


Terraforming

by Milo



Category: Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Backstory, M/M, Maxie-centric, Occasionally there's some strong language, Omega Ruby-verse, Pre-Game(s), References to Emerald, Slight Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 21:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 67,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3224333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milo/pseuds/Milo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disgruntled Rocket Grunt Maximillian gets partnered with an overly-friendly bodyguard named Archie. It was hard to tell at that point how much this one moment changed everything. But it’s amazing how the influence of one person can change the course of one's life completely.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act I Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Yep. This is what I've been spending my free time doing. This is far from my first attempt at writing for Pokemon but this is my first time actually posting something. Expect lots of references to other games in the series.
> 
> Currently updates are more sporadic.
> 
> Any and all art you see in this story is provided by the amazing [Lithping](http://lithping.tumblr.com)!

 

"Cerulean Cave?"

Maximilian reviewed the paper over and over and tugged at the collar of his red sweater. He’d specifically requested to work only in dry environments. Cerulean Cave was well known for its wide, deep expanses of water that linked the above ground and below ground caverns. It was also home to a variety of ruthlessly strong wild Pokemon that Maximilian knew he wouldn’t be able to handle.

He had a Numel. That was it.

"I thought I requested the position at Rock Tunnel?" he asked, preventing himself from sounding too dissatisfied.

"Yeah, well, plan’s changed. Rock Tunnel’s useless to us right now," the man in the black Rocket uniform said as he waved his hand. "The boss says we need someone at Cerulean? You’re going to Cerulean. Deal with it."

That was how Team Rocket always dealt with protests. He’d learned to deal with it grudgingly. They were still paying him a fairly handsome amount for the work he did which was more than he could say for most.

"Very well. I do hope you realize that I cannot defend myself against the wild Pokemon there." Maximilian folded his arms. "They can’t expect me to simply run and hope for the best every time a Golbat jumps out at me from the cave ceiling."

"Boss already thought of that," the guy said, handing over yet another short stack of papers. "Got a new guy coming in later today. He should help you out."

Maxmilian stared at the man for a moment. Then he tucked away the details of the mission into one of the over-sized pockets of his white lab coat.

He’d worked with some of these ‘bodyguard’ types before. He never enjoyed it. They were usually the typical Team Rocket type--can’t wait to destroy everything, usually get in his way. As much as their protection was appreciated, they were almost detrimental to the mission.

This was just what Maximilian needed. A lughead to screw up everything.

 

* * *

 

"The name’s Archibald Aogiri! You can call me Archie. Actually, I prefer that ya call me Archie."

That was how he’d introduced himself to Maximilian. Apparently Team Rocket had just fished this man off of the street and he certainly looked the part. Street clothes hidden not-so-carefully underneath the rocket uniform, the uniform just barely fitting over his arms, he was the perfect picture of a brand new recruit.

He didn’t sound like he was from Kanto at all. Where had they picked him up?

"I hope that we can achieve what we must," was all that Maximilian said in reply. This wasn’t enough for Archie, though.

"What? Don’t I get a name back?"

Maximilian gave him a look. “The job is five days long, Archibald. After that we’ll be going our separate ways,” he said. “I don’t find it too important that you know my name.”

In fact, he was surprised Archie even gave his name at all. He didn’t actually know most the names of those he worked with. People cycled in and out, grunts passed by, and he never really made too much of an effort to know anyone. He liked it that way.

"Well I guess I can just call ya glasses guy, if ya want?" Archie grinned.

"Very well, if you  _must_  know,” Maximilian growled. “My name is Maximilian. You are free to forget it when we are finished working together.”

"Maximilian, huh? Suits ya." Archie nodded sagely. "Mind if I call ya Maxie?"

"Please don’t."

"Maxie it is! I like ya already, Maxie!" He extended an arm to Maximilian. The other was hesitant to take it, and was thoroughly shaken when he did. Certainly this new recruit had one hell of a grip. "I’ll bet this is going to be an awesome trip!"

And what was with that enthusiasm?

"This is a mission, not a pleasure cruise," Maximilian said. "It’s not going to be an ‘awesome trip’. We have plenty of work to do."

"So? I’m still super excited!" Archie said. "I’ve never been to Cerulean Cave before! You and me, man, we’re gonna get along swell!”

He punched Maximilian on the shoulder. Said person yelped and rubbed the spot where he was hit, all the while glaring at Archie.

Ah yes. What a mission this would be.

 

* * *

 

There was a large white tent not too far from the cave’s entrance. The setup was crude, simple, and far below usual Rocket standards, but Maximilian figured he wasn’t high enough status to complain about it. There were a couple fold-out chairs, a table, and somewhere to sleep. At least it had lights this time. He placed his bag of research notes on the collapsible table.

"Alright, look. After we go and get the samples, I want to work in silence. Absolute silence," Maximilian said to Archie, who was distracted by the mouth of the cave. "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah, silence." Archie scratched at the stubble on his chin. "Whatever. Got it."

As usual, Archie wasn’t paying him any mind. Maximilian grumbled something inaudible before he began carefully removing the microscope from its special carrying case. Despite the long trip from Kalos, where it was made specially, it was in pristine condition. He placed it on the table, which wobbled a bit, much to his dismay, and went back for his special notes on the surrounding minerals.

He pulled out a green folder containing native Pokemon listings, a blue one with reports on the water content, and a red one with his handwritten notes—blast them for not putting a working computer in his office. Maximilian picked through them until he came across one labeled “Mineral Content of Cerulean Cave”.

"So, what’s with this cave anyhow?"

Maximilian looked back at him. “What?”

“I mean, there’s plenty of caves in Kanto. Rock Tunnel, Mt. Moon, Diglett Cave, Seafoam Island cave, Victory Road, too, even…why this one? What’s so special about this one?”

"I’m a scientist, not a Rocket admin. Why don’t you ask one of  _them_  if you want the details on the mission?”

Though they probably would just yell at him to do his job without questioning it, Maximilian thought to himself. That’s what they’d told him when he inquired about the nature of this research. A closer look at studies of the place did indicate higher leveled Pokemon which, he hypothesized, was their reason for coming.

He still wished he’d been relocated to Rock Tunnel, though. At least Numel would have been strong enough to fend off the low leveled Geodudes and Onix.

He withdrew a series of glass vials from the case that contained the microscope and placed them into his pocket. Then, he reached for a flashlight.

"Today I’d like to get a few samples of the surrounding gypsum in various places of the cave. I’ll choose the samples. You just worry about the wild Pokemon," Maximilian said. "Also, we need a few samples of the water."

"Got it."

"Also, don’t touch  _anything_.” Maximilian gave him a stern look. “The crystals in the cave are thousands of years old. The last thing I want is to leave this place in ruins because you decided to have a little fun romping through the cavern.”

Archie held up his hands. “Hey, hey! I can control myself!”

"Says the one who punches things when he gets too excited."

 

* * *

 

"Hey, Maxie?"

"Maxi _milian_.”

"I was just thinkin'. We’re goin' to be spending all this time together here, and I don’t know a thing about ‘cha!"

Maximilian gave him a look. “We’re in a business partnership. You’re not here to become my newest friend,” he said dryly. “There’s nothing wrong with a little distance between us—”

"Aww, c’mon!" Archie protested. "I don’t have ‘ta know your favorite color or nothin'! I just want to pass the time doin’ something besides sit here on this lumpy rock and watch yer bony backside mess with the science kits. I can’t work in absolute silence!"

Maximilian pinched the bridge of his nose. They’d been in the cave for ten minutes. Ten long,  _agonizing_  minutes, and already Archie had become bored beyond belief. While Maximilian had measured the crystals at the entrance of the cave, Archie had taken to whistling a tune from a popular television show. After he’d found a decent sample? He wouldn’t stop drumming his fingers on the wall.

Arceus help him, he wanted to strangle the man.

"Perhaps  _you_  can’t, but I can. I  _need_  silence to focus,” Maximilian said, trying his best not to raise his voice. The last thing he needed was a shouting match. “If you’re bored, then you’re welcome to go off and harass some poor Geodudes or something.”

Archie had an amused grin. “Thought ya said I wasn’t supposed to roughhouse in here?”

"It’s a risk I’m willing to take if it’ll make you stop."

"C’mon, Maxie!" Maximilian cringed at the nickname. "Talking isn’t goin' to kill ya. What’s the harm in getting to know me?"

"Oh, let me count the ways," Maximilian groaned.

"Hey, look, I’ll be super good! No whistling, no drumming, no throwing around those shiny rocks anymore—"

"You did  _what_?”

"—Like I said, I’ll be good! Best behavior." Archie flashed a big, toothy grin. “Promise!”

Maximilian wanted so very badly to tell him to leave, or to phone the base back in Celadon for a new bodyguard. But he knew what answer he’d receive. Archie looked at him expectantly from his rocky perch. He sighed.

"…Very well. We can talk for a bit," he said.

"Sweet!" Archie leaned forward to watch as Maximilian gently broke off a piece of gypsum crystal and placed it into a vial. "So, hmmm. Why are ya so into caves and stuff? Isn’t it boring sitting inside all day lookin' at rocks?"

                                             

"You’re asking me why I became a geologist?"

"Yeah!"

"Hmm…" Maximilian thought for a moment. "I suppose I’ve always been interested. Where I lived when I was very young, there were large stores of igneous rocks available at my disposal. It was from the volcano to the east, which was still quite active in recent history. My mother once took me to see the lava flows before they all dried up. I used to collect the surrounding rocks as well. Ignimbrites, pumice, basalt…"

He heard Archie yawn and turned to glare at him.

"Oh, am I  _boring_  you?”

"Hey, I’m not the science-y type like you are."

He rolled his eyes. “This is pointless. Why am I even bothering with telling you these things.” he said as he stood up and started for a section of the cave further in. “I’m going back to get some water samples.”

"Wait, wait—!" Archie hopped off the rock and went after him, effectively becoming a shield between Maximilian and the inner cave. "Keep talking! I’ll listen! Pinky swear!"

Maximilian narrowed his eyes. “Regardless, I need to get water samples. Out of the way.” He gently pushed past Archie and continued on his way. “If you actually want to listen to me talk, then follow along.”

This made Archie perk up, and he slowly followed along behind him.

“So…rocks, right?" Archie asked. "Ya liked the kinds of rocks that showed up around volcanoes.”

"Yes, that’s correct," Maximillian said.

"And…that’s what made ya want to be a rock scientist."

"Geologist. And I wouldn’t attribute my interest in them to that one, singular event in my history," Maximilian said. "That was the beginning of my interest, yes, and living near a place full of volcanic activity certainly did spark plenty of curiosity within me."

"Huh." Archie put his hands behind his head. "Well, I grew up with the ocean in my backyard! Slateport City, born and raised!" He laughed. It echoed off the cave walls in an eerie way that made Maximilian shiver. "My dad used to take me out on his fishing boat. He always said it was good for me to learn bright and early! Got my first Magikarp out there with him. And when I was eight, a Carvanha damn near took my leg off! Showed it a thing or two after I caught it."

"It tried to eat you, and you captured it it," Maximilian said flatly. "I…I don’t know if you’re joking, or if you’re actually that stupid."

"Hey, he calmed down later. And he really helped with bigger catches, too!" Archie lifted a Pokeball from his belt. A Net Ball, Maximilian noticed. "Carvanha’s one of my closest Pokemon now. And the scar looks really edgy!"

Maximilian simply shook his head at Archie. “You’re incredible.”

"I do try!"

It wasn’t long until they came across the cave’s expansive reservoir of fresh water. Inserted lights under the water’s surface—Maximilian wondered to himself if other geologists or Team Rocket had been the ones to put them there—reflected green light up against the walls and ceiling of the cave and effectively lit it up. He clicked off the flashlight.

"Wow. Look at that," Archie said. "This water’s gorgeous! Perfectly still, perfectly clear…"

"That’s how it is within caves," Maximilian replied. "The water in this cave probably leaks in from outside through an underground section of caverns. " He caught Archie reaching down to it, and stopped him. "It may look clean and clear, but I can assure you that it’s more than likely contaminated. This cave is incredibly close to the city, after all."

"Oh. That’s unfortunate." Archie watched the other take out a few long, cylindrical vials from a case in his pocket. "That’s not…going to be a problem with this sample collecting stuff, right?"

"It’s possible that whatever we’re looking for within these samples is polluting the water."

And it’s also equally possible that the water has nothing of value and simply has a number of harmful bacteria, he added silently. He dipped the vial and a gloved hand into the water, filled it to the top, and replaced the cap on it.

"I’d like to go deeper into the cave if we can," he said. "There’s supposedly another deposit of water on a lower level separate from this one. It might have different contents."

"Right! I’m down for that."

And deeper they went into the darkness. The cave’s surface was a bumpy set of miniature hills and valleys of stone. Maximilian had to very carefully watch where he was going while he walked. Archie just jumped from rock to rock as if this was the safest, smartest thing to do. Maximilian feared for the safety of the ancient stalactites around them.

They stopped upon reaching a large collection of crystals by a little offshoot of the cave. Maximilian pulled out a container to put a few cuttings in. Archie wandered off without him, saying something about scouting the area.

He returned a minute later before Maximilian could effectively do anything.

“Check it out! It’s a wild Machoke!”

Maximilian looked up and turned toward Archie. On a rocky island in the middle of a shallow area of water was a Machoke. It didn’t seem to notice either of them and was busy minding its own business. He went back to comparing the lengths of the gypsum crystals.

“Yes, it is indeed a Machoke,” he said, pulling out a tape measure and holding it up to the largest crystal in the bunch. “Leave it alone, it’s not hurting anyone.”

“It doesn’t even know I’m here. I could totally kick its ass before it even realized.”

“Aren’t both of your Pokemon weak to Fighting types?”

“Who says I even need 'em to take on that bozo over there?” Archie said, jerking a thumb back at Machoke. “I could take that thing on all by myself.”

Maximilian sighed. “If you want to go off and hurt yourself, be my guest.”

He heard Archie walk off in the general direction of the Machoke. Things were quiet for a moment. Maximilian jotted down a few notes on the exact measurements of the crystal and measured another smaller one. The larger one was stand alone, but the smaller was part of a larger collection which meant that--

Then the Machoke let out a startled cry. Archie laughed. There was some splashing around while Archie yelled out some garbled words. The Machoke sounded very, very angry.

“ _Argh_!”

It was hard to tell if the noise came from Archie or the Machoke. And the loud splash of someone hitting the deeper pool of water revealed nothing either.

Maximilian looked up. The Machoke dusted off its hands, roared triumphantly, and marched off deeper into the cave where it disappeared. Archie surfaced on the water with a loud gasp. His hat floated away from him.

“Fuck! I nearly had that thing!”

He floundered about in the deep water. Maximilian simply stared blankly, unsure of what to do. Archie spewed profanities under his breath.

“Fucking hell, is that a Magikarp? That’d better not be a Magikarp chewing on my foot--!”

He yelped.

“That is  _definitely_  a Magikarp!”

Archie doggie-paddled after his hat all the while shaking his left leg, where a Magikarp was presumably chewing on it. Maximilian couldn’t help it. He started laughing.

“Pfffffhahaha!” He laughed. “I--You--Ha! Hahaha _ha_!” He clutched his side as Archie pulled himself out of the water. “Arceus, what was that? Did you even  _try_  to beat the Machoke?”

Archie hefted himself out of the water and put on his soggy hat. He gave Maximilian a look that seemed torn between angry and thoughtful. Maximilian continued to laugh, unable to stop himself.

“Hahahah! Hahaha...ouch...aha…”

While Maximilian had to take a moment to recover, Archie approached him. Maximilian stopped laughing, his smile sliding away. Archie didn’t seem angry or like he was going to hit him. But he certainly was coming in close, way too close for comfort. He searched Archie’s eyes for anything hostile. Archie was unreadable.

“You’ve got a cute laugh.”

“What?” Maximilian said.

“…What?”

“What’d you just say?”

Archie opened his mouth to say something but clearly changed his mind. “I’m…uh, I’m going to go find that Machoke,” he said, pointing in the exact opposite direction that it had gone. “And…uh, beat it up.”

He hurried away like his pants were on fire. That was the last that Maximilian saw of him for about an hour. He returned later, limping as he carried his fainted Carvanha.

 

* * *

 

"…So, Maxie."

"Please stop calling me that."

"That volcano town, where was it?" Archie asked. "The one I’m thinkin' of is Lavaridge, but I guess there’s also Cinnabar Island’s volcano. Did ya grow up there?"

"No, unfortunately I did not," Maximilian said. "I’ve never been to Cinnabar Island nor have I ever seen Hoenn outside of books."

"So…where  _did_  ya grow up then?”

"I lived in Lentimas Town for only a few early years of my life," Maximilian said. "My mother and father specialized in Pokemon habitat distribution so we went wherever their work would take them. I lived in the city more often than not."

"Sounds kinda hectic. Didn’t ya ever get tired of it?"

"Occasionally I would gripe about it, but ultimately nothing could be done. We settled down in one place eventually," he said. "I managed."

The cave gradually grew darker and darker as they got further from the illuminated water. Maximilian drew out the flashlight again. Thankfully, it was mostly a linear path leading to a large, bumpy hole which appeared to lead lower underground. He’d thought he’d read about there being a ladder or series of steps leading deeper into the cave, but perhaps he had been mistaken.

“Where’d ya end up settling down?”

“I think that’s enough about my childhood," Maximilian said abruptly. "Can we talk about something else?"

Archie blinked. “Yeah, uh, sure,” he said. “Um…Oh! How’d ya end up with Team Rocket?”

An interesting question. Maximilian took a moment to examine the way down to the second level of the cave before saying anything.

"I used to work for Silph Co," he said. "For a time, I spent my days as an intern getting coffee and donuts for the men who worked there. A Rocket grunt stopped me on one of my trips. He offered me a choice. A full time job, or they’d steal my Pokemon and stuff me away where nobody would ever find me."

The path was surprisingly rocky and uneven. Maximilian could have sworn that there were once stairs built into the bedrock. Perhaps there were, but they were now up churned up into rubble by Graveler or smashed apart by the Machoke that populated the cave. Archie, of course, effortlessly got ahead of him. Maximilian figured he was used to jumping around on rocks.

"And how did  _you_  find Team Rocket?”

"Funny story, really!" Archie said with a smile. "I was a trainer for a while, and then it was off to see the world! ‘Course that didn’t really help me make ends meet. I ended up in Kanto looking for a job. Someone was looking for bodyguards so I showed up! Turns out it was a bunch of Rockets." He shrugged. "Job hasn’t been so bad thus far! Got plenty of people like you to look after."

It was easy to imagine someone like Archie enjoying the line of work. Most of what Team Rocket did was physical. Brutal, yes, and Maximilian disliked thinking about that part of the job. He thanked his lucky stars that he was only a humble geologist.

However, he took it back when the tunnel they walked through lead to a dead end. He stopped walking. The flashlight shone on solid rock to the front, the left, the right, and all around them.

"Hmm…" Maximilian reached out to touch the rock. "Seems we’ll have to turn back."

"Nonsense!" Archie grabbed another Pokeball from his belt, this time just a regular one. "We’ll just smash our way through!"

"Archibald, this is  _solid bedrock_. Not much is able to burrow straight through it,” Maximilian said, knitting his eyebrows together. “Unless you’ve got a Rhyperior in there, then by all means be my guest.”

Archie opened his mouth to say something, but then deflated and replaced the ball. “Whatever.”

"I suppose these three samples are good enough for now." Maximilian placed a hand where the pocketful of vials were. "We’ll try to find another path downwards later."

 

* * *

 

The second floor of the cave revealed itself on the third day of the expedition to when the flashlight caught the metal of an old steel ladder on the far side, beyond the water. Somehow, he and Archie managed to get there without going into the water—a rare miracle which Maximilian knew he wouldn’t be able to keep enjoying.

The ladder lead to a dry floor below the one where they had spent the past two days exploring, but it was possible to hear the quiet sound of water trickling down rocks every so often. There was probably water down lower in the cave.

The dry floor itself was a series of narrow passageways and tunnels, each one darker than the last. And it appeared, Maximilian noted, that Parasect and Ditto were especially fond of this floor. He hadn’t seen that in the habitat notes.

"So…What are we looking for today?" Archie asked with a yawn. Apparently, waking up at nine o’clock was too early for him. "More rocks? More dirt? More water?"

"A combination of the three. I don’t know what lies on the third floor of this cave. It’s rare that anyone goes down there," Maximilian said. "For all I know, there could be excess minerals in the soil and something special in the water that promotes Pokemon growth."

“Where’d ya get that idea from?”

He turned to face Archie. “I’ve been hypothesizing about what Team Rocket would want with this cave. Because the Pokemon are higher in level here than anywhere else, I’m assuming that they’re looking for some way to make their own Pokemon stronger,” he said. “Perhaps a mineral, vitamin…”

"Really?" Archie chuckled. "You don’t think these Pokemon just…train themselves?"

"I certainly support the idea, but Team Rocket would prefer a much simpler solution."

The way down from the second floor was an old staircase set into the very bedrock around it. Though Maximilian knew it was probably very, very old, it still was in quite clean condition as if the person who had constructed them only used it once.

The third floor was dry, but the sounds of water passing through from an underground waterfall had become louder. There was water in here, he just couldn’t see it. The light from the flashlight made a small group of Zubat retreat back into the darkness, but the Golbats, upon seeing fresh prey, were more than interested in investigating this strange light. That was when Maximilian was formally introduced to Archie’s second Pokemon; a Mightyena.

Eventually they came across a deep pool of water, the exact one Maximilian was looking for. This one was much more confined, and much, much deeper than the one closer to the surface. He couldn’t see Archie very well in the dark, but he figured the other was probably huddled down by the water.

"Can’t even see the water in here, huh."

"That’s because there are no lights in here. Here, take the flashlight."

Maximilian handed the light over to Archie, who pointed it back down at him. He opened a box and withdrew a water sample container.

"It’s as I figured, the water here is untouched compared to the supply on the upper floors. It’s likely that not many care to venture this far into the cave."

"Guess that’s a good thing for the Pokemon, huh?"

"In terms of habitat protection, yes. I’m sure the Pokemon that live down here are quite interesting. But I don’t know how it might affect levels or water supply. We’ll see what the analysis has to say about it."

Maximilian pointed toward a narrow strip of rock outcropping over the water. “Angle your flashlight to that area so I can see what I’m doing.” Archie simply nodded and did as he was told.

He walked out onto the ledge, being mindful of the fact that it was soaked from the water on the cave ceiling. Best to be careful. The light revealed crystal clear water. An underground spring? Goldeen and Magikarp passed through the beams of light and wiggled once they were spotted. They, too, were unused to the strange light.

Something from the bottom of the water shined back up at him. Maximilian blinked.

"Hm? What’s that?"

"What’s what?" Archie replied.

"There’s…something, down in the water. I can’t quite tell what it is from here," he said, taking a few careful steps toward it. "It’s not a Pokemon, I think it’s a rock? Or maybe…no, it’s probably a—"

The rocky outcropping under his feet collapsed. A splash was heard. Archie was cackling from the sidelines.

"Ahahaha! That was too perfect! Great job, Maxie!" He said, wiping away a tear. "Oh man. Now I see why you were laughin' it up!"

He waited for Maximilian to yell strings of profanity at him. He was prepared to soak in all that rage from the skimpy, angry little man. But nothing came. Maximilian wasn’t flailing, shouting, or getting angry at all. Instead, he was moving much slower, trying to keep his head above the water.

An alarm went off inside Archie’s head.

"Oh,  _shit_ —!”


	2. Act I Part II

_A bunch of chairs, living room throw pillows, and the blankets carefully peeled from each bed were painstakingly converted into a very crude but workable fort in the middle of the living room._

_The fortress, made to withstand any attack, whether by sea or by land, was impenetrable if you asked Maxie. He decorated it with the rocks he had collected and a flag he colored himself—A big red and black “M”. Numel was the designated castle dragon, and Maxie was the king of the castle, ruler over all the little plushies of the Great Maxie kingdom._

_The front door opened and let out a long creak. Maxie could hear his mother chattering away on her phone._

_“…No, no. We haven’t seen any signs of it yet…Yes….Yes, we’ve found evidence of its existence.” Her always heavy bag hit the table._

_Silence._

_“Honey? Where are the dining room chairs?”_

_His mother, coupled with her Wartortle, wandered into the room. When she spotted the fort she made a face. “Maxie, I thought I told you to stop making forts in the living room. I’ve got a meeting later today. I need those.”_

_“That’s The_ Great _Maxie to you, mom!” He looked to the left, then the right, and whispered, “Fort Magma’s not for girls, but I can make an exception for you!”_

_“Hm? What’s that?” His mother wasn’t listening. Again. He watched her walk back into the dining room. “Yes, sorry, my son made a mess of the chairs…No, no, I understand…Tuesday?”_

_His eyes drooped. Numel climbed into his lap. He buried his face into it. “Mom_ never _wants to do anything with me…” He mumbled. “Being an adult is dumb.  I hope I never get to be an adult.”_

* * *

 

"Maxie? Maxie, Arceus,  _please_  don’t be dead—!”

Maximilian awoke, coughing and sputtering with a mouthful of water that tasted like it had come from a rusty faucet. Everything around him was dark. What happened?

"…Archibald?"

"Y-Yeah?"

“You’re crushing me.”

"Oh! Oh, uh, right. Sorry."

He released his grip on Maximilian. The other gasped and coughed some more. His clothes were absolutely soaked. The rock outcropping was completely gone, having fallen into the water below. He felt his pocket. So had the samples from the upper floor and the special water tester.

"…I dropped them."

"What?"

Maximilian pulled himself up from his place on Archie’s lap and made his way to the water’s edge. He couldn’t see anything, but he could hear the water sloshing around. No soil samples, no fresh water samples, nothing to bring back.

Why hadn’t he been more careful?

"…We’re going to need more vials.” Was all Maximilian said. “I’ll get back to work collecting samples from the second and third levels of the cave. But we can’t replace that kit. It’s ruined now.”

"Maxie."

"There was also that strange stone at the bottom. That might have held some answers to my studies. If I had only—!"

"Maxie!"

Archie’s loud tone echoed out through the cave. He looked down at the other with a stern look. Maximilian went quiet. “You nearly fucking drowned in there! Can’t you just be happy that yer even alive?”

He was silent for a moment.

"…We should head back. We’ve wasted enough time down here." He said, not looking at Archie. "I’ll…start collecting some new samples first thing in the morning. We can make up for it."

He started for the stairs, leaving behind a very confused Archie.

“I don’t even get a thank you?”

 

* * *

 

The following few days were less productive than Maximilian had hoped.

As far as he could see, there was no way to get even lower in the cave, meaning that the path was either flooded or blocked by something. The replacement samples he’d collected were helpful in detecting some of the Pokemon species reported before, the contents of the cave, and other things such as pollutants, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He wondered what it was that the admins were looking for.

He wished so very much that he had that special equipment back. And that stone…was that tiny cave mystery forever doomed to be just that?

When he presented the information he and Archie had gathered to Archer, he seemed content. However they still got no answer to what the data was for or why they had spent their time there in the first place. It was back to everyday business for Maximilian and he and Archie went their separate ways for the time being.

It wasn’t until nearly a month later that he caught sight of Archie again. Not that he was counting.

"Yo! Maxie!"

He visibly cringed when not only did that ridiculous nickname ring out throughout the offices, but the lughead that said it came running alongside it. Maximilian tried his best to seem completely invisible among his fellow scientists and coworkers, but his striking red hair gave him away in an instant.

Needless to say he was bowled over by Archie, who managed to send his glasses flying across the room. He heard them land in a fish tank. That was probably the one with the filthy, slimy Goldeens.

“ _Archibald_.” He hissed.

"You remembered me!" He grinned.

How could he forget someone who reminded him so much of a personified Barbaracle?

"It wasn’t necessary to attack me!" Maximilian patted down his coat and brushed his hair back into place. He started walking in the direction where his glasses had gone, but promptly ran into a desk. Archie started laughing. "Son of a—!"

"Arceus, I wish I had a camera right now."

Maximilian mumbled some very unpleasant things under his breath on the way to the large fish tank on the other side of the room. He heard Archie’s heavy footsteps behind him.

"Please tell me I heard wrong.  _Please_ tell me they’re not in the fish tank.”

"They’re not in the fish tank."

"Really?"

"Nope." He couldn’t see, but he knew Archie had that stupid grin on his face. "They’re between the seaweed and the pirate ship, if it helps!"

Maximilian squinted down at the tank. He wasn’t going to degrade himself to reaching into that filthy, slimy fish tank and feeling around for his only pair of glasses. Why hadn’t he been smart enough to buy a spare pair?

"I’ve got an idea, why don’t  _you_  get them?”

"Me?"

“ _You’re_  the one who knocked them off in the first place.  _You’re_  the reason they’re in there. It’s only fair.”

Archie was about to retort this when a voice from the other side of the room hollered for Maximilian. Maximilian glared at Archie and walked, glassesless, in the direction from which he came. He made a threatening gesture at Archie to stay away from him, but the other just let out a string of chuckles.

Archie had disappeared by the time he came back, but in his place were a pair of soaking wet glasses dripping on his desk.

 

* * *

 

“What’re you up to?”

It was a Tuesday past eight pm. Most of the other scientists had gone home for the evening but Maximilian decided that it was in his best interest to stay later. He’d gotten an earful from one of the admins as he, apparently, had not provided the results they wanted from the cave expedition. So here he was reading, recalculating, and reexamining what samples still remained from the trip.

And, of course, Archie was hovering over his shoulder.

Maximilian sighed. “I’m reexamining what we collected back in Cerulean Cave.” He said. “Or, at least, what was still salvageable. The admins threw out the majority of my dirt samples thinking they weren’t necessary…ugh.” He rubbed at his temple. “And I still have absolutely no idea what they want!”

They told him he wasn’t working hard enough. That it was his fault for not paying more attention to the studies. And yet they told him this mission was absolutely classified. Only certain Rockets would even know what was happening. He spun the pen in his hands as he scanned the information he recorded weeks ago. What had he missed? What wasn’t he getting?

“Y’know, me and the guys were thinking of going out for something to eat.” Archie said. “I came by to ask you if you were interested. Been a while since you went out and did anything.”

Maximilian snorted. How would Archie even know that?

“No. But thank you for thinking of me.” Maximilian wasn’t looking at Archie. “I have a lot of work to do and I’d rather not spend it at the bar.”

“I could wait here for you.”

“Then you’ll be here all night. In complete silence.”

“Alright then.”

Maximilian resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew for a fact that Archie didn’t have that kind of patience.

But, nevertheless, he offered the spare chair in the corner of the office to him. Archie settled down in it, but it was ultimately too small to seat him properly. He was just out of sight and out of mind for Maximilian, who went right back to work. The little portable microscope was taken out from one of the overhead compartments and prepared to examine the rock and water once again.

The saline content of the water was no different from before. Nor was the minerals that had been found. The first water sample had plenty of bacteria and chemical contamination from the city. He wished that he had a sample of that pure water from the basement. Or that he could have gone deeper into the cave.  He let out a sigh.

It was going to be a long, long night.

 

* * *

 

_“Dad?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“Where are we going?”_

_That morning Maxie had been hurried out of bed and  into a car with Numel and all of his things. His father had offered no explanation why. He also didn’t explain why his mother wasn’t there with him. He wasn’t sure what to say about this until they were nearly two hours into the ride._

_“We’re moving again.”_

_“Why?” Maxie said, confused. “I like Castelia City. It’s really nice. My friends live here…”_

_“Well I’ve got a new job in a place far, far away. You’ll make new friends.” His father didn’t look at him. “Orre has a fine school system and my job pays more than enough to get you into secondary school! You always talk about how you want to be a geologist when you grow up. Aren’t you excited about the future?”_

_“But…I like my friends in Castelia…”_

_“Don’t be so selfish!” his father snapped back at him. Maxie withdrew into himself. “We have to move, so we’re moving. You should be used to it by now. I could have left you behind, but I didn’t. Be thankful that you have a father that cares about you.”_

_Maxie’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Okay.”_

_The scenery slowly changed over time from city lights and suburb homes to wide open prairies, then mountains, and then…sand. The number of cars Maxie spotted dwindled into fewer and fewer numbers. Enough for him to count without going beyond his superior counting abilities._

_Wherever they were going, it was definitely terrible horrible and utterly no good. He could feel it._

 

* * *

 

He didn’t remember falling asleep. One moment he was writing down notes on the formation of gypsum crystals, and suddenly he was laying on them. If it wasn’t for Archie’s snoring in the back corner he might not have woken up.

Well, at least he was good for something.

Maximilian sat up and adjusted his shoulders. Something slipped off his back. He glanced to the floor and spotted a long, dark coat. Archie’s coat, he thought when he caught sight of the little white emblem embroidered on the side.

Archie was still sitting in that chair, arms crossed and drool dripping out from his mouth. He was fast asleep at this point but the presence of the coat left him to wonder if it was he who fell asleep first, not Archie.

“…What…What time?”

He grasped for the clock on his desk. Twelve thirty AM. He took his glasses off and rubbed his face. At least he hadn’t been asleep for that long. He turned his chair to face Archie.

“Hey. Archibald.”

“Mmm…”

“Archibald, wake up.”

Archie shifted in place. “Ugh…” He stretched his arms up above his head. “Guess I dozed off. What time is it?”

“Time to leave.” Maximilian said, reaching for his coat. “I’m not getting anything done here. I’m going home now.”

“Yeah, you passed out ages ago.” Archie scratched his neck. “Didn’t have the heart to wake you up. You’ve been so tired lately. How much sleep did you get last night?”

Maximilian took a moment to think. Usually he went home by nine, did more work until the early hours of the morning, and then went back on his merry way to work sometime around seven AM. Last night he hadn’t gone home at all.

“I sleep plenty.” He said.

“Bullshit.”

He decided to pay Archie no mind. He tucked the documents away in the folder, clicked off the light at his station, and started off. Archie followed a moment later. The two walked silently until Archie, ever the talker, decided to break the silence.

“You live around here, right?”

“Hm?”

“Like, in Celadon.” Archie said. “The last bus out of here left hours ago and I’m pretty sure the next one won’t come until at least eight tomorrow. Means you live around here, am I right?”

“I don’t see why this is important…”

Archie surprised him from behind with an arm around his torso. “There’s really only one huge complex nearby. Unless you’re like me and love walking, then I’d say you’re there.”

Maximilian raised an eyebrow. “Am I to assume you’re looking for somewhere new to sleep when you stumble home in the dark, drunk as a sailor?”

“Nah! I just live in that same complex!” Archie was quick to switch off the lights before Maximilian could even reach for them. “Which floor you on? How come I haven’t seen you around?”

“I leave by seven. You’re hardly even alive before ten o’clock.”

“Guess that’s true.”

The two walked down the quiet city streets in silence for a while. Mainly because Maximilian was so determined to get home and didn’t even bother responding to any of Archie’s conversation starters. He kept trying to tell him about his day, this and that, something that his friend did, something that a Pokemon did. All Maximilian could think of was work.

“You ought to stop by sometime, Maxie. To my place, I mean. It’s just me and the Pokemon there. You could bring that Numel of yours and we’d have a party!”

“Archibald.” Maximilian warned. “I’m busy. Very, very busy.”

“So? You’re always busy. Lighten up and take a load off. It’d be good for you.”

“I  _can’t_!”

They stopped walking.

“It was my error that got me in this situation and I have to fix it as soon as possible!” He was practically yelling now. Archie simply stared at him. “If I hadn’t fallen in the water, I wouldn’t have contaminated everything. If I hadn’t fallen in, the ledge wouldn’t have broken and I wouldn’t have lost that stone. That might have been exactly what our boss is looking for!”

“Maxie it’s not—”

“Don’t! Don’t.” Maximilian held up a hand. “Don’t say anything. It’s my fault and I’ll figure it out if it kills me. Until then, I want you to leave me alone.” Archie looked surprised. “I’m stressed enough with people like Archer and Petrel breathing down my neck. I don’t need you to distract me, too!”

“But—!” Maximilian silenced him with a glare. Archie faltered. “…Alright. Don’t work yourself to death, though. I like having you around.” And then he added, “Even if you are a pain in the ass.”

“Not as much as  _you_  are.” Maximilian growled back. “ _Never_  as much as you are.”

Archie did have a point, as much as he loathed to admit it. Two extra days of research turned into five days of Maximilian clinging to coffee like a lifeline. He had to force himself to move away from his notes for even basic necessities.

He tried new ways of looking at the samples, new methods of reexamining them, but all to no avail. Midnights became three AM home trips and at some point he stopped coming home altogether, instead letting Numel stay out with him while he worked. And Archie, thank Arceus, was nowhere to be seen.

With nothing left to do with the rocks, he looked toward the Pokemon lists. It was known one hundred percent without a doubt that Parasect, Machoke, Golbat, and Ditto made their home in the cave. It was assumed that Kadabra and Electrode also made their homes there. Fossil records of the area and collections of bones indicated the presence of Rhydon, Lickitung, Dodrio, and trace samples of others, such as Wobbuffet.

The levels and strengths of the Cerulean Cave Pokemon was known to be staggering, as Maximilian had come to know over that week of being attacked mercilessly by Golbats.

He paged through a fossil and bone collection report. There were claw and teeth marks discovered on ancient Graveler fossils, which led Pokemon paleontologists to believe that the Pokemon there might have been ruthlessly fighting each other at one point.

Maximilian so badly wanted to show the report to his bosses. There was no secret Rare Candy formula in the water.

Again he ended up spending the night paging through book after book, report after report. Numel seemed determined to make him get up from his spot but he shooed it away.

"Not until I finish." He’d say. "I want to finish my work, then we can go for a walk."

He took down notes in the margins of the articles; on levels, and extrapolated learnsets, and other seemingly trivial things. He found himself yawning more with eyes that threatened to close. His head was in a fog.

Perhaps…if he only…

If only for a moment…

"Hey. Wake up."

A cold hand shook his shoulder. His eyes opened slowly to a well lit room. Natural light faded in from the window beside him.

Oh, shit. He hadn’t meant to sleep for that long. Maximilian shot back up and patted down his coat.

"I—Forgive me, sir I was only…I had no intention of—!"

He looked up to meet the face of Archie, staring at him with a sly grin.

"…What the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you not to bother me while I was working?" He asked, looking the other up and down. "And why are you soaking wet?"

Archie said nothing. He held out in one hand a ruined water testing kit and in the other a rock, darkened by water. Maximilian’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

“That’s…”

“I figured you’d hole up here and force yourself to work until you either passed out from exhaustion or stopped breathing.” Archie said. “So I did the honor of spending my day off at the cave. I did most of the heavy lifting, but you have Carvanha to thank for finding your stuff.”

Maximilian looked at the items, and then at Archie.

“Of all the—!” He said, scowling. “Archibald, the Pokemon there are—! That was stupid, dangerous,  _completely_  idiotic, you could have…”

“Maybe. But I didn’t, and that’s what’s important.”

He placed the rock in Maximilian’s hand. It was slimy and dirty from what was probably years of sitting in the water at the bottom of the cave. He could barely make out a design delicately carved into it. It would need a thorough cleaning before he could do anything. He sat back down in his chair. Archie glared at him.

“No. No more working.” He said. “I didn’t bust my ass out there hauling rocks out of the way for you to go right on killing yourself with work. You’re going home.”

“But…” Maximilian looked around at the other scientists who were filing in for their day shift. “My shift starts in less than an hour. I don’t have time to go home.”

Archie folded his arms. “Is that what you’ve been telling yourself the past week?”

Maximilian wanted to protest. Someone would get on his ass if he just up and left. He eyed Archie carefully. Could he win against Archie in a test of strength? Probably not. But the real question was whether he was more afraid of an angry Petrel or an angry Archie.

Archie did know where he lived, too.

“…Fine.” He said. He dried off the rock with his sleeve to the best of his ability and carefully tucked it away in his pocket. He could probably still get some work done at home when Archie wasn’t staring him down like a disgruntled Pyroar. “I’ll go home for now. But you can’t stop me from coming back later.”

“Wanna bet?”

Maximilian rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have more important work to take care of?”

“More important than you? Nah.” Archie winked. “Petrel probably needs me for something or other, though. I should probably get on that.” He turned and started off. “Don’t even think for a second that I’m not going to come back and make sure you’re not here!”

Maximilian hid a smirk. “Get to work, Archie.”

“…Hey. Hey!” Archie wheeled back around. “You called me Archie!”

“You must have misheard me.”

“Oh, no, I heard it. I  _heard_  it!”

“Archibald, will you just—! Stop flailing around—!”

And that was the second time he was punched in the face from excitement.

 

* * *

 

 

Maximilian hissed as he applied the icy cold gel pack to his eye. The spot where he’d been punched accidentally had gone from red and puffy to dark and bruised now, and it was sore enough that he could barely touch it.

What made a man punch people out of excitement? How did he do it? He asked himself this for what seemed to be the one hundredth time. He didn’t have any logical explanation for it. Archie was…Archie. Strange, quirky, punched everyone that he liked because he was happy.

Maybe he should have also felt happy about it. He only felt the sore sting of the bruise.

Numel looked up at its master from the little round Pokebed next to the TV and let out a concerned noise. Maximilian glanced at him. “I’m alright. But this is going to be an eyesore for quite some time.”

He settled down on the couch, being extra careful not to bump the bruise. Numel took it upon itself to trot over and rub up against Maximilian’s leg. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t know that man.” He mumbled, scratching Numel's head.

The rock that Archie had given him was settled on the table between a stack of books on ancient Kanto artifacts and a set of picture frames containing various old photos. Every day he would slowly work on clearing the grime and dirt from the rock, but it was much harder than it looked. He didn’t want to damage the design nor did he want to peel any more paint than what had come off. It required patience.

Setting aside the gel pack for now, he picked up the rock and the rag beside it and began to carefully rub at the more stubborn patches still attached to it. Slowly but surely, a bit more came off. Then more, and more.

Part of a picture was revealed underneath. Maximilian recognized two distinct figures carved into the material; a cat-like creature with a long tail and a fierce animal with sharp teeth, spikes, and long claws with a peculiar marking on them.

                                                  

He continued scrubbing until the last bits of dirt rubbed off onto the cloth. The full picture was fitted with plenty of notches and nicks in the material itself that was smoothed over by a special glaze on top, as if the item had been glazed.

“Hmm…”

Without color, the figures in the decoration could have been a number of Pokemon. But it was the distinct marking on the creature’s arms that gave it away. Flipping a few pages ahead in one of the opened books, he found a picture of an oddly misshapen and broken stone that depicted a Groudon in the same way.

But why Groudon? It was almost exclusively known only in the Hoenn region which was a sizable, but not impossible, distance from Kanto. Had someone from one of the early groups really come this far just to plop a rock in the water?

Perhaps it was a sign of friendship. Perhaps the two Pokemon were going to fight one another. There were so many questions unanswered.

Maximilian turned to another page to read as he polished the stone.

 

* * *

 

 

It was the first and last time Maximilian decided to eat lunch outside of his tiny little desk area. Usually he avoided the tiny cafeteria like the plague, telling himself to avoid places that served food that looked more like Grimer than anything else.

But it just so happened that an extra work shift that night had caused him to sleep right through the alarm. Thus, he had to run out the door without his lunch. So, here he was picking and choosing between Trubbish and Muk. And the soup, which was completely unidentifiable. The man staffed at the serving counter looked as if he was partially hungover, and partially drugged.

Maybe a snack would tie him over instead—

"Hah! It’s so weird seeing you outside your little cage, Maxie!"

Oh, no.

Maximilian tensed up. The room was too small, there was nowhere to run. Archie was blocking the door. The last thing he needed was another run-in and another bruised eye to add to the collection. Archie approached him from the right and clapped him on the shoulder.

In a friendly way, probably. But it still hurt like hell.

"What, no hello?" He frowned. "C’mon, we’re practically buddies now!"

"Perhaps you didn’t get the memo,  _Archibald_.” Maximilian’s voice was ice. “Where I come from, friends don’t punch each other in the face.”

"That was an accident! You know how I get."

“And?” Maximilian whipped his head around to face him. He pointed at his blackened eye, which was practically useless at the moment. Archie visibly flinched. “That doesn’t change the fact that it hurts.”

"I…er." Archie took a step back. He seemed to be at a loss for words. "That looks pretty bad."

Maximilian turned away from Archie’s gaze and covered the eye from view. People were staring at him. Some other Rockets were muttering to each other. If only he had blinders on his glasses.

"Yes. It is." He said.

"Hahahaha! Nice job, Archie!" Some Rocket in the back, who Maximilian remembered as someone he’d seen with Archie more often than not, jeered at them. "Give him another one, then he’ll have a matching set!"

The other Rockets all laughed with him. Maximilian glanced around at his coworkers with a nervous look before ultimately looking back to Archie. Archie’s face was unreadable and dangerous. He took a step back. He’d seemed so apologetic and genuine before. Was the peer pressure getting to him?

"Get ‘im, Archie! Show those eggheads what’s what!"

"Yeah! Give him a third one, for me!"

Maximilian wasn’t going to wait for Archie to react to them. He ducked past him and bolted for the door. No, no he was definitely not in the mood to be ganged up upon. Nor was he prepared for an easy place to hide. But he spotted the broom closet and decided to make do with that.

There was a commotion in the cafeteria. He heard Archie laughing.

So, this was what it was like to have friends again.

 

* * *

 

 

_As it turned out, Orre wasn’t terrible horrible as Maxie had originally thought. It was actually much, much worse._

_It was warm, which reminded him of the volcano town he’d lived in so long ago, but that was the only thing he liked. The neighborhood scared him. His father told him to say inside whenever he wasn’t around, which was always. Not that he’d even want to go outside in the first place._

_The house that they had moved into was small and cramped, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. His father assured him that most houses in Orre were like this._

_Maxie’s room was only big enough to hold a bed and a desk, along with his small collection of books on volcanoes. He’d decorated what he could with his tiny collection of rocks and was at least somewhat satisfied with his handiwork._

_When Pokemon Trainer School began for him, he came to find out that it wasn’t at all what his father had said. In fact, the majority of his fellow classmates looked more like the people he’d once seen huddled around a flaming barrel in the bad side of Castelia._

_And they really, really liked rocks. In a bad sort of way._

_“Hahaha!”_

_The voice came from one of Maxie’s classmates. He ripped the stack of books from Maxie’s arms and flung it to the ground. He was surrounded by a group of boys two years older than him at least. Two held rocks in their hands, prepared to throw them._

_“What kind of Pokemon Trainer spends all day looking at rocks?” One of them said. “I’ll bet you don’t even have a Pokemon yet!”_

_“And what’s with that hair? Are you trying to be a girl? Do you just suck that much?”_

_“I say we punch his lights out. Teacher says his dad’s important, maybe he’s loaded!”_

_“I...I don’t…” Maxie tried to say._

_“Shut up, geek!”_

_He was shoved to the ground. The other boys descended like a pack of Mankey, punching and kicking until Maxie manage to scramble away with what was left of his prized books. The boys laughed at him as he fled, relishing in the fact that the had won against him. Maxie did his best to stall the tears until he got home._

_“Maxie?”_

_His father opened the door slowly. Maxie was curled up on the bed with his turtleneck sweater pulled up and over his face. Numel was curled up at his side, eyes watching him worriedly._

_“Maxie’s not here.” He mumbled. “He’s in Sweatertown.”_

_“I just wanted to say that dinner was ready.” His father’s voice was always that dull monotone. “Why are you lying in bed like that?”_

_“I want to go home. I don’t like it here.” Maxie said, further curling into himself. “Everyone’s so mean…”_

_“That’s the way Orre is. Maybe you should learn to stand up for yourself and fight back. They wouldn’t bother you so much if you didn’t fall for it.”_

_“But I don’t want to fight anyone.”_

_“You don’t have to. You have Pokemon.”_

_“I’m not supposed to use Numel, I’m not a trainer yet.”_

_“Well fine. Then it’s your own fault for not defending yourself.”_

_His father pulled the door shut a bit too roughly for Maxie’s liking._

 

* * *

 

 

"Hey…Maxie?"

Maxie heard him knock at the door to the broom closet twice. Then a third time. He didn’t reply, instead pulling up the neck of his sweater to cover his face. No, no, he didn’t want to deal with this today. Not today. Not ever. Archie could go jump into a hole.

"Hey, are you in there?"

“No.”

He heard Archie settle down against the door.

"…Ya gonna come out?"

"Absolutely not."

Silence.

“Look, I’m sorry about what happened back there. Didn’t mean for it to…uh, get all crazy like that."

"Save your apologies." Maximilian growled. "If you’re here to save your reputation by tricking me into opening the door, you’ve got another thing coming. I’m not that gullible, Archibald. I heard you laughing it up with your friends over there.”

“Did you also hear me punch them?”

This took Maximilian by surprise.

“What?”

“Yeah. Got ‘em real good.” A laugh. “Though, uh, they did get me real good back too.”

Maxie poked his head out of his sweater and looked at the door.

“Maybe you haven’t gotten it yet,” Archie continued, “but I happen to think we’re friends. I don’t care who they think they are, they’re not going to get away with bad mouthing you. Not in front of me.”

Maximilian wasn’t sure what to say. Archie started laughing.

“Arceus, that sounded ridiculous.”

“It did.” Maximilian said. “I’ll bet you look ridiculous right now.”

“Why don’t you come out and see?”

To Archie’s surprise, the door opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I wasn't expecting this fic to gain this much attention this fast! You guys are fabulous and that's why I've decided to give you this next chapter a whole week early!
> 
> See you in a couple weeks!


	3. Act I Part III

“You’re an idiot, do you know that?”

“And yer just jealous that I can take on a whole squad of Rockets and you can’t.”

They were in Maximilian’s apartment. Archie had taken full rule of the couch with a pleased expression on his face. Or, at least, it might have been visible if it wasn’t completely covered in bags of ice. The mass of Rocket grunts had certainly done a number on him. Not that he was concerned in the least.

“I’m certainly not jealous of a face full of bruises.” Maximilian said. “One’s more than plenty.”

Archie lifted an ice pack to look at him. “Yer thinking of them in a bad way!” He said. “If you ask me, they’re practically trophies! Shows I can stand up for myself in a fight. Chicks totally dig it.”

Of course. For women. Maximilian rolled his eyes.

“And I’m sure your future girlfriend will very much appreciate patching you up every single time you go off on some poor bystander that looks at you wrong.”

“Hey, are these pictures of ya?”

Archie sat up, the collection of ice bags toppling into his lap—Maximilian grumbled an annoyed _Archibald_  at this—and reached for a photo. It was a simple one of a slightly younger Maximilian at his graduation.

“Yes, that’s me from a few years ago now.”

“Huh.” Archie glanced between the picture and Maximilian a few times. Then he put a hand on his chin. “…Say, how old are you?”

“How old do I look?”

“I dunno, maybe thirty-something?”

Maximilian made a face. “…I’m twenty-seven.”

“Really?” Archie seemed genuinely surprised by this. Maximilian wasn’t sure how to feel. “Ya look and act a whole lot older than you are, that’s for sure! Kinda weird to think we’re pretty close in age.”

He set down the picture and picked up a second. Maximilian glanced at it. It was a picture of him and Numel playing in the dirt outside their home. He didn’t remember exactly which one it was, nor could he remember the picture being taken, but he’d kept it due to the beaming smile he had on his face.

 

                                                              

 

“D’aww, lookit little you! So happy.” Archie said. “You and yer little mudpies.” He looked up at Maximilian. “Too bad ya don’t like getting down and dirty nowadays, huh?”

“Fortunately for me,” Maximilian said, taking the picture from Archie and replacing it on the table, “I now have real pies to eat that do not require mud nor my own talent to make them.”

“It’s a shame. A real shame.” Then, he spotted the rock. “How’s research going on that thing? Uncover anything interesting?”

“I did, in fact.”

Maximilian picked up the book laying on top of the stack and opened it. He paged through it, scanning each page for the one he wanted, and showed it to Archie. The page held a picture of “stones” similar in size and shape to the one they had found covered in stylized Pokemon pictures ranging from Pikachu to Articuno to Kyogre to Budew.

“These are ritual stones. They’ve been found around the world. They appear very much like rock but they are actually made of clay.” He said. “It’s unknown what their exact purpose was, but what is known is that these were made to explode. The most common theory was that they were created, carved, and then tossed into a fire in some sort of ritual, hence the name.”

“ _Explode_?” Archie looked down at the rock. “…Is it safe to keep this thing layin' around?”

“Perfectly safe. Unless it somehow finds itself in someone’s chimney.” Archie didn’t look any more comforted by this. “Anyway.” Maximilian closed the book and set it aside. “The one we found happens to depict two Pokemon; Mew, and what might possibly be—”

“Groudon. It’s definitely Groudon.”

Maximilian blinked. “I’m surprised you’re familiar with that name.”

“What? Ya think I’m all muscle and no brain?” Archie snorted. He tugged on the front of his Rocket uniform. “There’s much more than meets the eye here, Maxie. Y’ought to pay more attention.”

Maximilian made a face at him. “…Moving on. I’m unsure of the significance of these two together. It could possibly represent an ancient friendship between tribal peoples. It could also represent conflict, if these marks are anything to go by. I cannot discount the thought that it might also be purely coincidence.”

“Or maybe someone saw them dueling it out in ancient times.”

“I highly doubt that.” Maximilian said. “The extrapolated times in which these Pokemon lived are very different. Mew is also native to a completely different land while Groudon is supposedly based in Hoenn only.”

“I still think it’d be cool it they beat each other up. Cutesy pink Pokemon versus giant raging red beast? I’d so watch that.”

Numel trotted in from the other room. He looked from his master to their house guest for the day, blinked, and found himself settling on Archie’s lap a moment later when the man picked him up.

“Speaking of tiny cutesy Pokemon!” He said. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced yet, have we?” He scratched underneath Numel’s chin and it purred in response. “I’m surprised ya don’t have an army of Rock type Pokemon in here, seeing as ya love rocks so damn much.”

“I like to  _study_  rocks, I don’t  _worship_  them.” Maximilian said. “I also don’t much enjoy Rock types. They’re too bulky and hard to care for when I live in such a small space.”

“I could get you a Geodude from the Rock Tunnel while I’m in Lavender Town?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Suit yerself.” Archie said. “Me personally, I’ve been thinking about looking for one of the Zubat line. Something about those little bloodsuckers just gets me right here, y’know?” Archie gestured at his chest. He was joking. He had to be joking. Maximilian just shook his head at him. “Aww, well. When ya get a Zubat someday, you’ll understand.”

“I’ve had my fair share of those things back in the cave.”

“What about a Porygon?”

“What?”

“Y’know! Yer a scientist, it’s a…” Archie waved his hand. “…Bird program…thing? They look good and make ya feel a little richer. I’ve heard ya can get 'em if you win big at the slots upstairs. Or ya can bribe the guy who runs the cash to coins exchange.”

“I’m not interested in any more Pokemon right now. I’ve got my hands full with work and Numel is plenty to take care of.”

Archie’s pleasant smile changed to a frown. “Maxie, when was the last time you sat down and did something for yerself? That cave rock doesn’t count, by the way.”

“Why do you care so much about my personal life?” Maximilian said with a scowl. “It doesn’t directly affect you.”

“Yes, it does!” Archie snapped back. “I don’t know what goes on in that head of yers, but look. All you do is work. Any guy with half a brain’s going to notice that there’s something wrong with that and get a little worried. Know what I’m saying?”

“I can’t say that I do.”

“Yer sounding more and more pathetic by the minute.”

Maximilian narrowed his eyes at Archie. “Clearly,” he said, “if you’re healthy enough to mock me then you don’t need any help. Why don’t you head on home?

“Nope! I’m not goin' nowhere.”

Archie didn’t move. Maximilian didn’t move. Archie’s fierce glare matched Maximilian’s perfectly. They stared at each other for a long, tense moment before Archie broke out laughing.

“Gahaha! Damn yer stubborn!” He said. “But I’m pretty fucking determined myself. So, unless ya want to be here all day glaring holes inta me, then why don’t ya take a load off for a while?”

He patted the couch beside him. Maximilian arched an eyebrow.

“And do what?”

“Ya’ve got a TV, Max.” Archie said, gesturing to the television that Maximilian rarely if ever used. “Why don’t we kill some time? It’d do ya good to relax for a bit. Besides, that thing’s got a cake o’ dust on it. Ya might as well use the damn thing at least once, am I right?”

He hesitated. Television was always such a colossal waste of time. Books were more stimulating than the garbage reality TV and game shows that were usually on. But Archie seemed determined, and when Archie was determined to do something, he noticed, it usually happened.

Maximilian sighed and settled down onto the couch.

 

* * *

 

Weeks went by without incident. Archie went off with a small team to do a mission over in Mt. Moon while Maximilian stayed behind to continue his work.

Progress was slow on uncovering any new information regarding the ritual stone due to the incredible lack of information at his disposal. The object was ridiculously mysterious, with only that select number of reports. The rest was guesswork, pure guesswork. He often became frustrated with it. Guesswork wasn’t scientific enough for him.

It didn’t help that Archie had become even more determined to be his friend. Maximilian was often called in the middle of his shift, while he was showering, or even when he was actually making an effort to relax. Archie would chatter on and on about things he was seeing—“Clefairy, Maxie! I saw one today! They’re supposed to be super rare!”—or to ask how he was doing, how Numel was doing, or if there was anything new.

But in between calls from Archie and day-to-day activities, a single, solitary picture emerged from his studies. An archaeologist had discovered a cache of the ritual stones in Sinnoh within the depths of Stark Mountain.

Those ones of course depicted a highly stylized Heatran and not Groudon or Mew, but the idea was similar. The clusters, according to the archaeologist, indicated an offering place. The native peoples left the stones there in hopes that the Pokemon would bring prosperity to their land. Later it was discovered that the actual Pokemon was discovered in that same area.

A light went on in his head.

Maximilian picked up his home phone and dialed Archie’s number.

“ _Yo, Maxie!_ ” Archie answered an instant later. “ _You’re calling me for once? Did ya miss me that much?_ ”

Glee was practically radiating through the phone. Maximilian rolled his eyes.

“Archibald.” Maximilian said. “When you sent Carvanha looking for the ritual stone, did you find anything else in there?”

“ _Uhh…_ ” Archie went quiet for a bit, thinking. “ _The water was super clear and clean for the most part. Though now that I think about it, I did see a buncha rocks shaped kinda like that._ ”

There were more of them. Maximilian froze.

“ _But they were covered with dirt and stuff. Dunno if they were the same kind. Why d’ya ask?_ ”

“I think I’ve figured out why it was there in the first place.” Maximilian rubbed at his forehead. “You’re aware of the details on Project Mew, aren’t you?”

“ _Yeah, sorta. Team Rocket’s sending people all over the world to look for it, right?_ ”

“Yes. And I think that’s why we were sent to Cerulean.” He lifted the book containing the picture to eye level. “Or, at least, one of the reasons. It could very well be that they’re not sure at all if Mew can be found there and are searching for something else. Whatever the case, I don’t like it.”

Archie’s voice dropped to a hushed whisper. “… _Wait, Maxie, what're ya sayin'?_ ”

“I’m saying,” Maximilian said, “that we need to go back there. To the cave. If there actually  _is_ something there, do you realize how dangerous the world would become if Team Rocket got their hands on it?”

Archie didn’t have an answer, so Maximilian continued talking for him.

“Mew is largely considered to be the ancestor of all Pokemon. I don’t know much about genetics myself but I wouldn’t doubt about this opening up a lot of possibilities for cloning. If they can accomplish it. I’ve also heard rumors that Mew can learn any attack. Imagine the danger civilians might be in!”

“ _So, what? We disobey orders and run out to spend the night in a cave together lookin' for a floating pink cat?_ ”

Maximilian thought for a moment. If Archer found out about what they were doing, they would definitely be fired. He also wouldn’t put it past him to do something much, much worse. Team Rocket wasn’t known for being kind and understanding.

But could he really stand by and let them capture Mew to level buildings and attempt to rule the world?

“Or I can do it myself.” Maximilian said finally. “I don’t know what your plans in life are, Archibald, but I personally would like to make a difference. I can’t let this happen.”

Silence.

Then, Archie laughed a loud, hearty laugh.

“ _Ha! I knew there was somethin’ I liked about ya!_ ” Archie said. “ _Saying all that stuff about safety and yet here ya are, jumping right into the heat of things! When the going gets rough, ya plant yer feet in the dirt. Hahaha!_ ”

Maximilian heard something rustle on the other end. Archie said something unintelligible to what he presumed was a fellow Rocket member.

“ _Well, ya know me. If it ain’t stupidly dangerous, I’m not interested in it! Give me a time and a meeting place and I’ll be there_.” Archie said. “ _Gotta get back to work now, though. There’s somethin’ going on further inside the mountain, apparently_.”

“Yes, of course.” Maximilian said. “We can talk later.” He was about to hang up but halted. “…Ah. One more thing. Archie?”

“ _Yeah?_ ”

“Thank you.”

* * *

 

_“I’m working on it, trust me. Research is just slow. Making something like this is difficult. It’s never been done before…”_

_An older Maxie was diligently working away at his homework in his room, which his father had demanded him to do all of the sudden. He still didn’t seem to be aware of just how thin the walls in their tiny home were._

_“I don’t think you get it.” Came another man’s voice. It was raspy, like he’d been smoking for at least twenty years of his life. “The boss needs this thing ASAP! The only reason yer even here is because you said you could do it. So where is it?”_

_“I…I have a model built, but the machine is so…s-so far from working.” His father stammered. “I’m not even sure how we’ll manage to accomplish a portable model! The technology just isn’t advanced enough—”_

_A smack._

_“Shaddup with all of this ‘we’ business! It’s you who can’t do anything. We oughta left you in the ditch where we dug you up!”_

_A chorus of laughter._

_“Ya’ve got two weeks to get it right. Or else.”_

_The door slammed. Maxie heard his father groan loudly and slump onto the floor. Part of him wanted to say something or to ask about who was at the door. But he knew what his father’s response to that would be._

_He continued writing._

* * *

 

Cerulean Cave was as dark and damp as ever. Perhaps even more so as the hot air outside caused some of the cold rocky walls nearest the entrance to sweat. Maximilian, always dressed in a sweater and coat, was thankful for the cooler temperatures the further they went in. Archie seemed completely oblivious to any changes in temperature.

“Y’know Maxie,” Archie said, “if I was a fluffy pink Pokemon, the last place I’d want to be is in this cold, wet cave. Why d’ya think Mew would be hidin' in here?”

“There’s a lot that cannot be explained about Pokemon behavior.” Maximilian said. “It’s possible that it comes in here to escape the clutches of humans, or to train with the strong Pokemon living here.”

“I guess so.”

They made for the ladder. A group of Pokemon fled the area, scratching their way into the crevices and cracks in the walls to avoid the light. Maximilian thought he heard the sound of a Golbat colony below them.

“Mew is known to be a highly elusive Pokemon.” Maximilian said. “It’s only known from a few select photographs and a sound clipping of its cry. It’s likely that they’ve been living in unexplored places. Not many humans dare to come in here. It’s a good place for a legend like Mew to hide.”

As they made their way through the maze, the noise coming from the Golbat and Zubat started to increase. Maximilian felt that much more unnerved by them. Trespassing in a cave where the Pokemon were this wild was dangerous enough the first few times he had to do it. Now they were used to seeing him. They knew for sure that he wasn’t a threat.

“Hey…Shine the light over there.”

Archie pointed toward a little alcove. The light revealed a pair of Golbat huddled together at the top, away from the others.

“I’ve got an idea.”

“Oh, this should be good.”

Archie frowned at him. “Remember that water downstairs in the basement? The water I had to save you from drowning in?” Maximilian nodded slowly, not enjoying that memory at all. “Right. Well, Carvanha sure as hell ain't big enough to Surf ya across and I can’t haul both of us over there.”

“And?”

Archie gestured to the Golbats.

“Why don’t we _Fly_ to the other side?” He said. “These things probably know the cave better than we ever will. We sure can’t see in the dark like they can either.”

Maximilian blinked. “That is…actually a very good idea.” He eyed the Golbat carefully. “…But can your Mightyena take on those Golbat without fainting is the real question.”

“Hey, hey. The Machoke was one thing. These are different entirely.” He said. “Mightyena’s got this covered.”

Somehow Archie kept to his word and managed to weaken the Golbats enough to capture them. Maximilian was wary about using a Pokemon that was still so wild. He didn’t even have any badges to impress it with.

Archie, of course, let his out immediately. It wasn’t very happy with him.

“Look fella.” He said in a stern tone. “We need to get to the back of the cave. You can be grumpy with me later for wakin' ya up and taking you away from yer happy home with yer buddy.”

“Archibald, it’s still wild. It’s not going to listen to you.”

The Golbat didn’t make any noise other than some quiet chattering that the other Golbats had been making. But it seemed to understand Archie’s interest in getting to the back of the cave. It turned away and headed off down the hall. Maximilian stared at Archie.

“How…did you do that…”

Archie grinned. He pulled back the collar of his shirt to reveal a set of badges. Five, to be exact.

“I’m surprised ya’ve never noticed.” He said. “They’ve been here all along while we ran around doin' things.”

“I’m surprised you even got that far with only a Mightyena and a Carvanha.” Maximilian said. He was also surprised to see that Archie had stopped at only five when he knew him to be the stubborn type. “Isn’t there an Electric-type Gym in Hoenn?”

“We managed. Mightyena’s pretty tough.” Archie said, grinning. “Ya got any badges from yer home region?”

Maximilian shook his head.

“There is only one gym where I’m from. And it doesn’t give out badges.”

“…Where the hell are ya from that doesn’t have any badges?”

“It’s exactly that. Hell.”

Maximilian followed on after Golbat before Archie could respond to that. The last thing he wanted to do was talk more about Orre. After a moment of consideration, he released his own Golbat. His seemed confused about what was happening at first but, upon noticing its companion from before, calmed down quickly.

Archie and Maximilian continued on through the dark in silence until they reached the stairs from before, dampened by water. The pair of Golbats flew around the bend as if they had done the same move thousands of times, emerging out over the water. Archie seemed pleased by his newest addition to the team.

“Yer gonna fit right in with the other two.” He said to it.

He walked out from the stairwell and looked out onto the water. Maximilian followed, shining the light out at it to get a feel for just how much there was. The water extended far to the back of the cave, but the lowest level of the cave itself wasn’t all too big.

“I don’t think it should be too much of a problem for them.” Maximilian said. “The distance isn’t so bad. Though, Golbat aren’t meant to use Fly at  _all_. Crobat would have an easier time carrying us—”

“Unfortunately we don’t  _have_  Crobat, now do we?”

“It’s sad, but true.” Maximilian gestured at the bats. “Care to do the honors, Archibald?”

Archie nodded. He approached his Golbat and directed it to the other side of the water where a faint strip of land could be seen even with the weak power of the light. It let out a cry and grabbed his shoulders with its oddly shaped feet. Despite its smaller size and inability to Fly like a Crobat, it still held its own. Archie disappeared into the dark.

Maximilian looked at his Golbat. It looked back at him, silently flapping in the air.

“…Shall we get going as well?”

Maximilian could have sworn that it shrugged.

 

* * *

 

Past the water, the cave became even more complex than before. It sloped up and down and have a few more sets of stairs, both manmade and natural. The two Golbats led them along through each individual space masterfully. The rock surrounding them slowly began to change the deeper they got.

“I don’t like this silence.” Maximilian said. “It’s…It’s like…almost…”

“Like the kind of silence ya expect in a horror movie,” Archie said, “right before the Banette shows up in the little girl’s room, or when the Tyrantrum roll a car over and eat the guy who runs off to the bathroom.”

“…I was going to say that it feels unnatural, but I guess that works as well.”

“What kinds of Pokemon live down here, again?”

“Hm…Kadabra, Graveler, Parasect, Machoke, as I’m sure you’re fully aware…” Maximilian arched an eyebrow. “Why do you ask? You’re not…scared of anything down here, are you?”

“What! No, no, no, no.” Archie shook his head furiously. “Absolutely not. I just. Uh. Wanted to make sure there weren’t any weird surprises down here.”

“Heh.” Maximilian snorted. “I would consider Mew to be a weird surprise, but that’s all.”

“Oh. Good.” Archie puffed up his chest and made a serious face. “I’m not afraid of a little pink cat thing.”

“That’s what you said about the Clefairy before they all—Hm?”

Maximilian stopped walking. The Golbats had settled down on the ground. He moved his flashlight around the area. It was much narrower, probably bad for flying. He pulled out his Pokeball and returned one Golbat.

“Looks like it’s up to us from here on out.”

Archie nodded and followed suit. Maximilian walked first through the passage and scouted it out. More rock. Not that he hadn’t expected that. A large flat platform stood in the middle of this room. It was surrounded by a moat of water that was clearly not natural for the cave.

He stepped further inside and shined the light around. Two long since burned out torches still stood in their stone holsters. A pile of ceramic ritual stones was neatly stacked off to the left. There were traces of ropes on the floor and dead grasses at his feet. Something was etched into the ground.

“Is this…some kind of altar?” Maximilian said, more to himself than to Archie.

“Dunno.” Archie answered. “But whatever it is, there’s something we can light up. And I’m all for getting outta this stupid darkness.” He marched inside. “Y’got Numel with ya?”

Maximilian nodded and released Numel from its Pokeball. “I’m not sure how much good he’ll do you.” He said. “The wood’s probably too damp to catch fire.”

Numel approached Archie and spat out a few tiny embers aimed for the ancient torch. It took a moment but, with a little time and patience, the wood lit up.

“Seems alright to me.” Archie said.

The tiny flame on the torch grew slowly until it was big enough to replace the flashlight. Maximilian turned it off. The tiny room revealed a huge ceiling surrounded by ancient ruined scaffolding, preserved over the ages by the cold rock around them.

And at the very top were sketches in what Maximilian assumed was charcoal. Maximilian looked up at them. Dozens of Pokemon were depicted in a similar style as the Mew and Groudon on the ritual stone were. He silently named each one he could recognize, and noted the strangeness of the ones that he couldn’t. Then, right in the middle, he spotted it. Mew.

“Uh, Maxie? Ya might want to come see this…”

Archie was standing near the top of the stairs, frozen in place. Maximilian hurried to him.

On the top of the altar was a tiny nest, raised up on a pedestal and built of the same grasses that were at the entrance. But this grass was noticeably fresh. And the nest was in use. Maximilian knew this because of the tiny pink cat that was staring back at them curiously.

“Is…Is that…”

Maximilian nodded.

“Send out Mightyena.” Maximilian said as calmly as he could. “Mew is supposed to be a Psychic-type. It will have more trouble dealing with Mightyena.”

“Y…Yeee…”

“Archie!” Maximilian said it louder and with more impatience.

“Yeah—Uh, yeah, Mightyena!”

He tossed the Pokeball into the air and Mightyena popped out of it. It looked around itself before setting its eyes on the legendary Pokemon in front of it. It bared its teeth at Mew. Mew showed no concern for it whatsoever.

Maximilian looked to Numel. It was against the rules to use two Pokemon against one, something about harassing wildlife. But did that rule really apply to legendary Pokemon? He watched Mew as it yawned and floated up from its bedding. Though it seemed calm and seemed to not be interested in fighting Maximilian knew better.

“Numel, go!”

Numel trudged forward. Its ears twitched a few times and it, too, yawned sleepily. It looked up at Mew, and then at Maximilian before taking a battle stance which was only slightly more frightening than a pillow with an angry face drawn on it.

He turned to Archie.

“I doubt we’ll be able to defeat it, but we need to get Mew to leave before the Rockets get here.” He said. “What kinds of moves does Mightyena know?”

“That thing doesn’t know Explosion, does it?”

“Archie. Focus.”

Archie shook his head. “Right. Sorry. Those damned Clefairy.” His face turned more serious and he pointed at the Mew. “Mightyena, Roar! Scare that thing outta here!”

Mightyena opened its mouth and let out a loud roar directed at Mew. The legend was quick to shoot out of the way and to the side. Mighytena tried again, and again, but Mew was far too fast for it to hit. It leapt off the platform and chased after Mew, who floated away, giggling to itself.

“Try a Bite attack!”

Mightyena picked up its pace and lunged at Mew. A glowing pink barrier emerged around the tiny Pokemon and deflected Mightyena’s fangs. It yelped and stumbled back. So it knew Barrier, Maximilian thought to himself. That was one move out of four possible. What other techniques could it use?

“You sure as hell ain’t gonna go explodin' on me!”

“I doubt Mew can use Explosion.”

“Ya said that thing can learn  _any_  move!” Archie yelled back at him. “I don’t think Explosion is out of the question!”

Mightyena continued after Mew, growling and snarling as it went. Mew seemed to treat this as playtime. Numel trotted over to the edge of the altar to watch them run around the room. It seemed to be debating whether or not it should join in. Maximilian carefully watched them, trying to time a strike just right.

“Now Numel! Flame Burst!”

Numel took a moment to respond, as Maximilian knew it always did, before spitting out a small ember from its mouth. Mew, distracted by Mightyena, didn’t catch the flame in time to deflect it. It squeaked in pain as it was hit and its course was diverted to one of the wooden beams propped up against the wall. It shook its head and wobbled a bit.

“Yeah! Now we’re talkin'!” Archie said, smile reappearing. “Get it while ya can, Mightyena! Bite!”

Mightyena grabbed Mew in its jaws and shook. For a moment Archie cheered and egged it on, but Mew broke free moments later. It effortlessly deflected Mightyena and retaliated. Rocks from the manmade moat rose up via Mew’s psychic power and flew towards Mightyena.

“Dodge it, quick!”

But it was too late. The Ancient Power attack struck Mightyena head on. It tumbled over itself and landed at Archie’s feet. A one hit knock out. Archie’s mouth dropped open. Mew giggled at the far end of the room.

“The hell do we do now?”

“Hmmm…” Maximilian called to Numel. It trotted over to his side. “If Mightyena couldn’t handle Mew, I’m not sure that our Golbats are much of a match either.” He said. “Numel’s not very strong either. I’m not sure what to try next.”

Mew floated over to them and tilted its head back and forth. It seemed to smile at them deviously, like it was plotting something.

“Ya little shit.” Archie said. “I can see why Team Rocket’s looking for ya.”

“Barrier and Ancient Power.” Maximilian said. “And with that incredible psychic ability, I wouldn’t doubt there’s a Psychic-type attack buried in that moveset as well. But what else might you know?”

They got their answer when Mew waggled its finger back and forth. Archie stepped back.

“It’s gonna fuckin' explode.”

“Metronome can use any attack, Archibald.” Maximilian reminded him, following along as the other backed off. “It might use Flamethrower, Hyper Beam, Giga Drain, or even Hydro Pump. There’s no telling what will happen.”

“That’s not much of a comfort—!”

The moment Mew stopped wiggling its finger it also began to glow. It grew brighter and brighter until every square inch of the cave was covered in a white light. Maximilian found himself staring at it, hypnotized. Archie yelled something at him but he didn’t hear it. He was grabbed and pushed off of the altar moments later by that same bulky man.

Mew exploded.

* * *

 

Everything was silent. The cave was silent, Numel was silent, even Archie’s yelling was silent. He could feel him shaking his shoulder over and over again. He didn’t have to hear him to know that he was calling out his name. Maximilian blinked slowly up at the other.

“…..ax………max……….Maxie!”

He groaned and clutched his head.

“…Archie?”

“Arceus, that’s the second time I nearly lost ya in this stupid cave!” Archie looked furious. “I told ya that thing would explode! Ya didn’t believe me, but I knew it! Everything cute and pink that lives in caves explodes!”

“Mmm…”

Maximilian sat up and looked around. The altar was partially destroyed by the explosion, as were the majority of the ancient wooden beams. The wall all the way in the back of the room was blown open completely, revealing the outside world. But no light filtered in from the outside. It was night, apparently.

“Where’d Mew go?” He asked Archie.

“The thing flew out that hole ages ago.” He said. “It looked to me like it was headin' for some mountains but if I’ve learned  _anything_  today it’s that Mew is unpredictable.” When Maximilian began to sway, he steadied him. “…Ya okay?”

“I’m fine. A little shaken, but fine.” Numel approached his trainer carefully. He pet the top of its head. “We did what we had to do. Everything’s alright.”

“Alright? Alright?!” Archie said, rage seeping into his voice. “What about this says  _alright_  to ya? I nearly died!  _You_  nearly died  _again_! The Pokemon could have been really badly injured if I hadn’t moved when I did! We—We blew up the fucking cave!”

He gestured at the wall, where rocks were still falling.

“And somehow this is ‘alright’ to ya?”

“Archie, I—”

“Don’t ya even start!” He snapped. “Arceus, ya piss me off so much. All ya care about is work! I love danger as much as the next guy but this was just idiotic! What’d we even get out of this? If the boss finds out about what we did, he’s going to kick our asses so hard. Team Rocket will be huntin' us for  _years_  after this!”

Archie growled and seethed for a while more. Maximilian watched him, unsure of what to say. He looked off toward the hole where the night sky was partially visible in one of the bigger cracks. Even with the city so close by, there were still plenty of stars visible.

“At least we both survived.” Maximilian said.

Archie went quiet, staring off through that hole in the wall for a long moment before he turned back toward Maximilian.

Then Archie grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him. Maximilian had no time to react to this as Archie pulled away seconds later looking shocked.

“…Uh…” He stared back at Maximilian. “Um…that…I…”

It was dark and damp and slightly singed around them. Archie’s Mightyena was lying in a heap behind them with its tongue hanging out of its mouth. It wasn’t exactly the most romantic situation nor the time and place that Maximilian had envisioned something like this happening. And yet somehow it felt alright.

While Archie continued trying to stutter out some kind of manly explanation for what just happened, Maximilian took the opportunity to kiss him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are lucky that I'm a bad person who keeps giving into the want to post these chapters early. I'm so bad at setting up a good schedule for myself. I'll probably update again next week.
> 
> For any of my fellow Tumblr-goers who like silly extras, I post a lot of fic writing process crap on my blog [over here](http://clowncoupons.tumblr.com/).


	4. Act II Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seven. Hundred. Hits. Terraforming has barely been public for a month and this many people have read it? I am awestruck. I even found _fanart_ the other day which I still can't stop smiling about. Holy shit you guys! I don't even know what to say other than...here you go! I'm updating this extra early as my special Valentine's Day treat for you guys!
> 
> This chapter's a bit longer than the others in Act II. I blame the fact that splitting up this act was extremely difficult. Anyway, enjoy!

Maxie had only been in Archie’s apartment once before and that was when he was forcibly dragged in to get a proper introduction to his Pokemon. Mightyena hadslobbered all over his hands and face and he had nearly fallen into the plasticpool where Archie let Carvanha loose—against the terms of the apartmentcontract, Maxie had pointed out to him.

Theroom was lined wall to wall with knick-knacks with names from every single major port, fishing trophies, lures, some old netting, and two model boats which were the pride of Archie’s collection. Maxie could almost smell the ocean and hear the Wingulls cawing in the air.

Overall it was a bit uncomfortable. Especially for someone who couldn’t swim. But this time was different. The Pokemon kept to themselves and he and Archie had other things to attend to. Like sleeping in past the alarm Maxie had set for them.

“Archie, we need to get up.” Maxie said.

“Nooo…”

“If we lay here any longer Petrel will get suspicious and send someone after us.”

“Fuck work.” Archie said, though it was muffled by Maxie’s hair. “We just busted our asses keeping work from getting up to even worse shit than usual. We deserve a vacation.”

“I don’t think Petrel would agree.” Maxie tried to get up, but Archie had him locked to the bed with his arms. He huffed and turned around in Archie’s arms. “I need to make coffee.”

“No, ya don’t.” Archie replied. “What you really need to do is lay here in bed with me and stay where it’s nice and warm.”

“Archie—”

Archie ran a thumb over his cheek, brushing his freckles.

“Yer not enjoying this?”

“That’s not it.” Maxie said. “I…think it’s better if we don’t give our coworkers any reason to suspect that we’re up to anything. That explosion was heard all over Cerulean last night and now it’s crawling with police. Who was assigned to the cave? We were.”

Archie looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Yeah. That’s true. But I still don’t want to get up.” He said, planting a kiss on Maxie’s forehead. “Not when I’ve got ya right where I want ya.”

This effectively silenced Maxie. He leaned his head up against the other’s chest.

“You’re not getting away with this next time.”

“It doesn’t matter to me. So long as there  _is_  a next time.”

They shared a long, quiet moment where Archie simply held Maxie. He stroked the other’s hair lovingly all the way down to the ends and then repeated the movement. It took all of Maxie’s strength not to fall back asleep again.

“…Y’know, when I imagined kissing ya,” Archie said, “the last place I imagined it happenin' was in a dark, wet cave after nearly bein' blown to bits by a legendary cat.”

Maxie let out a chuckle. “Is that so? How  _did_  you imagine it, then?”

“I dunno. Maybe over dinner on the beach. Or after ya spent an hour talking about rocks, to shut ya up.” He grinned. “But I mean…It’s not too late to snag some kisses from you while we’re doing that stuff, right?”

“We’ll see.” Maxie said as he looked up at him. “Letting me go get coffee would be a start in the right direction, though.”

Archie huffed.

“Not a chance.”

But as all good things had to come to an end, eventually Archie relented and freed Maxie from his evil clutches. Maxie hurried off to the kitchen to start on coffee, yelling several times at Archie to actually get out of bed. He received a pillow to the face twice.

Archie’s kitchen, much like the rest of the house was decorated with little knick-knacks on the walls. There were antique fishing supplies, mounted pictures of him and two smaller children, each with at least two Magikarp in their hands, and plenty of rope and rigging equipment. The kitchen itself was surprisingly clean and everything was easy to find.

“I always assumed you to be the pizza and takeout kind of man.”

“Nah. I can cook.” Archie said. “Better on my checkbook that way. It’s a hell’uva lot cheaper to buy stuff and cook it. Doesn’t matter how good takeout is if you feel it right where it hurts later.”

“Mm.”

Maxie’s eyes were fixated on the coffee machine, which was torturing him with its slow movements and tiny drops of coffee spilling out. Archie clearly needed a new machine. He was about to mention this when the other snuck up behind him and curled his arms around his chest.

“My, my. You certainly are clingy.”

Archie rested his head on Maxie’s shoulder.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to touch you.”

“Enlighten me, then.”

 

                                                                 

 

Archie went thoughtful. “…Since the cave.” He said. “The first trip I mean. I mean I was already kinda interested in ya after we met—you probably got that from our game of twenty questions.”

“I gathered that much, yes.”

“I dunno what happened next. There was that bastard of a Machoke, then you were laughing it up at me…somethin’ clicked, Maxie. It was really weird. In a split second you became something else entirely. I thought your hair was greasy, your clothes kinda weird, your personality super ugly—totally changed.”

“After that I couldn’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout you.” He continued. “I’d go off with the guys to the bar and all I could think about was bringing you along. I knew ya wouldn’t be interested, though. ‘S why I waited for you sometimes at night.” Archie gave him an embarrassed half smile. “Sounds kinda dumb, doesn’t it.”

“ _Really_  dumb.” Maxie said. Archie frowned at him until the other pecked his cheek. “You’re an utter buffoon with awful taste.”

“Heh. You like it.”

“Regrettably.”

“…Hey, Maxie—Maximilian.” Archie said, correcting himself to Maxie’s real name. The word sounded strangely foreign coming from Archie. “D’ya…want me to start calling you Maximilian? I know ya don’t like me calling you Maxie.”

Maxie thought about it for a long moment before he sighed.

“Unfortunately you’ve gotten me used to that horrible pet name. You might as well stick with it.”

The two shared a quick coffee and breakfast before they were out the door. Maxie, still covered in the grit and grime from last night, felt a little uncomfortable heading to work. But somehow he forgot about this when he saw Archie, as dirty and grimy as him, smiling along beside him.

There was something inherently disturbing about feelings like that.

 

* * *

It was the first night off they shared in weeks. Maxie had made plans for the two of them. But, to nobody’s surprise, Archie was nowhere to be seen.

He looked at his watch. Archie was late. Very late. He crossed his arms and leaned up against the side of the restaurant. Soft light and the sounds of silverware clinking against plates seeped out through the little windows to his left. A Hoothoot was hooting somewhere nearby.

“Where is he?”

He’d given him the correct directions, had he not? It was only about a ten minute walk from their apartment complex. They’d gone past it numerous times before. Archie was a lughead, sure, but he never imagined him to get that lost accidentally.

“Hey!”

In the distance, he spotted Archie jogging up to him, waving and smiling like an utter buffoon. Maxie narrowed his eyes.

“Where the hell have you been?” He said with a scowl. “I’ve been waiting here for nearly an hour now.”

“Well, uh, I couldn’t remember if I had to dress all fancy tonight and I didn’t have anything fancy to wear.” Archie said. Maxie eyed his choice of attire with a raised eyebrow; neatly pressed without a single wrinkle, it was clearly something he went out and bought that same night. “And then I remembered that it’s usually a good idea to bring flowers along but the Pretty Petal shop closed at seven so—!”

“Archie.” Maxie pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is just an average diner down the street, not the Seven Stars Restaurant. This is a casual date with casual dress.” He said. “And I don’t need flowers. You can spend that money on dinner for me instead.”

Maxie opened the door, in the process setting off the string of bells tied to the top of it, and gestured for Archie to go in. The other hesitated, eyeing Maxie carefully.

“But I’m supposed to hold it open for _you_.”

“Oh, would you just get inside you overly romantic idiot?” Maxie said, exasperated.

Once inside the two were directed to a little table toward the back of the room. Maxie settled down in a chair that, he soon discovered, was in dire need of a new set of legs. Or a book underneath it. Archie sat down across from him. He was wringing his hands and looking around nervously.

“…What?”

“What?” Archie replied a bit too quickly.

“You look like someone shoved a bunch of Furret down your pants.”

“I…I’ve just…” Archie’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I’ve never really been on a  _date_  date before.”

Maxie blinked. Well, that certainly would explain the nervousness and the over-preparation.

“Really?” He said. “Then what was all of that talk before about impressing women? Was it just that?”

“I’ve just had lots and lots of other stuff to do, okay?” Archie said. “Like work and school and traveling—Sure, I screwed around a bit, but there’s not much time to get an  _actual_  girlfriend when the next day or even within a few hours you show up in another town for the next Gym Badge.”

Which explained plenty about Archie, really, and the happenings of the first few weeks of their relationship.

In the past Maxie had always seen Archie as the picturesque example of an overly manly person with at least three girls on his arms. Maxie had imagined him being the kind of person to brag about his “scores” with women while he chugged beer in some bar and laughed among a group of overly manly men. He expected Archie to punch him more but in a “friendly” sort of way.

Of course, this was what was what he  _expected_  from him. Not what he had received.

The weeks leading up to their first month of being unofficially officially together were awkward to say the least. Previously, no matter where he was or what he was doing, Archie would spot him and find it important to say something. Even if it meant yelling across a room. He’d made a point to loudly announce their friendship.

Now Archie was dead silent. He settled for awkward stares, and gentle hand squeezes as they passed each other in the hallways, and secret kisses behind closed doors where nobody was looking.

“I’m not judging you.” Maxie said. “But it certainly does explain a lot.”

Some of Archie’s nervousness seemed to dispel with this. “Well…what about you?” He asked. “You sure don’t seem all that nervous but I don’t really see ya as the type to go out on dates all the time, what with work and all.”

“You’re correct. It has been a while.” Maxie said. “That being said, this is far from my first date. And you’re far from my first partner.”

Archie frowned. “Whoa, really?” When Maxie gave him a look, he held his hands up. “I-I mean, uh…No offense, Max, but you’re not exactly Mr. Sunshine and Affection. We’ve never even talked girls before!”

“You’re right. We haven’t. That’s because I’m not interested in girls.”

“…Oh.”

“Yes.”

They sat in silence for a bit. A waiter passed by with drinks and a set of menus. Archie kept glancing between his menu and Maxie, who was busy with deciding what he wanted to eat. The seafood options were interesting, here was always the pasta to consider. On top of that, there was also the—

“S-So, um…” Maxie glanced over the top of his menu. Archie was giving him an awkward smile. “What’s new?”

“What’s new?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Maxie lowered the menu to get a better look at Archie. “Archie, we eat together almost every single day.” He said. “It’s no different from the last few dozen times we did this. You don’t have to be so nervous.”

“But, like, those were just us casually doing things together.” Archie made a gesture with his hands. “And this is an actual  _date_. There’s more to this than us just going out and eating somewhere different. It’s more special than that. And besides…” He glanced around at the other people seated around them who were paying no attention to them. “There are people here and they can  _see_  us.”

Maxie sighed and shook his head. Archie was absolutely ridiculous. A small smile creeped onto his face. He set aside the menu and reached out to Archie across the table, gesturing for him to give him his hand. Archie did so reluctantly.

“Pretend they’re not here. It’s just any other night with us being together.” He said, giving Archie’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Okay?”

“…Yeah.” Archie grinned, gripping Maxie’s hand tightly. “Got it.”

The rest of the night went on smoothly. Archie broke back out of his shell and talked on and on about the week’s work, sharing stories about other Rockets, some future assignments, and even some of what he wanted to do after Team Rocket. Maxie mostly listened but occasionally chimed in with a little story about the happenings in the science division.

But eventually the night went on and they ended up as the two remaining people in the diner. Maxie took this as a sign to leave, and after they paid they hurried out the door.

“Man! I’m stuffed.” Archie said. “I don’t think I could eat another bite for days!”

“I’m surprised to hear that. Usually their all-you-can-eat days are no match for you.”

“I can only do it on the pasta days. You ever try to gorge yourself on shrimp? Just doesn’t work.”

“ _Ew_!”

They froze in place. Some random Rocket was standing in front of them looking completely and utterly revolted.

“Archie, what the fuck are you doing out with this guy?” He said. Archie flinched.

“I was…um…”

“We were out on a date.” Maxie said. Archie looked at him, horrified, but he paid it no mind. “And after a lovely evening out, we’re on our way home now. Please step aside.”

But the grunt didn’t move. He put on a more ferocious face and stomped up to Maxie, who continued to look apathetic about the whole situation at hand. “Hey, glasses guy. Stay the fuck away from Archie. He’s not gay!” He said. “You’re ruinin’ his rep by making him do this kind of shit! And I’m not just gonna let you turn him inta….inta one of you!”

Archie watched the encounter nervously, unsure of what to do. Maxie looked at him, and then at the grunt, who shoved him back threateningly. Ah, yes, it was one of these encounters again. He rolled his eyes.

“What a shame. You’ve deduced my horrible, evil plot where I kidnap unsuspecting victims and make them gay.” He said in monotone. “By the way, I wouldn’t do touch me if I were you. I must warn you that I am fully capable of contaminating you with the highly contagious gay virus if you’re not careful.”

Maxie wiggled his fingers for effect. It took the grunt only a second to yelp and hop back a few steps from them. He looked at his hand and then at Maxie.

“Th-thats…That’s not real!” The Rocket grunt yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. “You’re making that up!”

“Oh, am I? I’m a scientist. I know what I’m talking about.” Maxie folded his arms and smirked. “I can attest to this being the case as I, too,” he placed a hand over his heart for emphasis, “was once contaminated and contracted a  _brutal_  strain of the virus. It starts with pimples, then you break out in a rash, and then the thought of men in the nude is the only thing that comforts you at night. It gradually becomes worse, incurable even, the longer you stay around someone like me.”

The Rocket grunt took a step back with a nervous look on his face, scanning Maxie for any sign that he was lying. Then he turned and ran off screaming and yelling about how he didn’t want to get sick. Some pedestrians turned to look at him, making disturbed faces. Maxie started laughing.

“Ahahaha! Even after all these years that method still works.” Maxie said. “There is never a shortage of stupid, ignorant people in this world.”

“Did…Did that really just happen?” Archie asked.

Maxie put a hand on Archie’s shoulder. “He should stay away from us until he figures it out.” He said. “Though I have no idea when that will be.”

Archie looked off in the direction that the grunt had run. His face looked worried. He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh.

“I…Sorry I made you do that, Max.” Archie said. “Didn’t mean for you to come out like that in front of all these people.”

Maxie snorted. “To be honest, I don’t care what everyone thinks about it. I got over that particular hurdle years ago.” He said. “If they all want to look at me like I’ve grown another head then that’s their own problem.”

He took Archie’s hand in his.

“Now, really, can we go home?”

“…Should you really be touching me? Ya wouldn’t want to, I dunno, contaminate me.” Archie said, crackling a smile.

Maxie returned the smile.

“That’s exactly what I plan on doing.”

* * *

 

_“Maxie likes boys!”_

_Maxie covered his ears and cowered in the closet, but even with the barrier between him and the hecklers outside he felt no comfort. His arms sported bruises, some old and some new, from the same pack of boys that were heckling him for the fourth time that week. This time they’d found a brand new place to tear fresh wounds into._

_He’d had to learn the hard way when he turned thirteen that it wasn’t normal to smile the way he did at that dark haired boy in his first hour science class. He’d had to learn the hard way that it was wrong to want to hold his hand. And flowers were for giving to girls only._

_One of them kicked the door._

_“Aren’t ya gonna come out, lover boy? Betcha want to smooch him up! Mwah mwah mwah!”_

_One made gagging sounds. “I’m gonna puke just thinking about that!”_

_They laughed and laughed. Maxie took off his glasses to wipe at his eyes before he glared at the door._

_“Bet he’s in there thinking about him right now.”_

_“Should we drag him out here and teach him a lesson?”_

_“Ew, gross! I’m not touching him! He’s gay!”_

_That was it. He took in a deep breath. Somewhere, somehow, Maxie gathered the courage to open the door to the only safe haven he had left. The three boys whipped their heads around in surprise. His eyes were probably red and his hands were probably shaking, but his face meant business. He thrust his hands out in front of him._

_“Th—That’s right!” He shouted. “I’m gross, and—and icky, and if you ever touch me again…I’ll…I-I’ll…I’ll make you gay too!”_

_One of them gasped. The other two exchanged glances. When they didn’t leave right away, he charged at them, arms outstretched. Much to Maxie’s delight, they screamed and ran off like their pants had been lit on fire. Once they were out of sight, his shoulders drooped and he wrung his sweaty hands together. They were still shaking, his heart was still pounding, but he did it. He smirked._

_It took everything he had in them, but he did it._

_The bullies didn’t come back the next day, or the day after that, or even the week after that. When he did see them next, they wouldn’t even walk within ten feet of him._

_However, nobody else would walk within ten feet of him. He’d catch snippets of hushed conversation about him, wide-eyed stares, and people would keep out of his way as if he were carrying a plague. It was lonely, very lonely, but at least he stopped coming home with bruises every day._

_He didn’t mind it. It was okay._

_Or so he told himself._

* * *

 

They arrived home sometime far later than they had planned. Perhaps it was because they took the long road back, or because they stopped at the fountain in the middle of town to talk, or perhaps it was because they ended up stopping for ice cream at the convenience store. But Archie was happy, and Maxie felt incredible, so the time didn’t really matter.

Archie passed out on the couch in his living room a good ten minutes after they came home. Maxie, not quite ready to sleep yet, decided that it was a good time to page through his book collection.

Archie’s private collection of books, as it turned out, surpassed even Maxie’s. And the ones he had were significantly worn, bent, and appeared to have been enjoyed to their fullest. The majority of the titles Maxie recognized as novels. _Moby Dick_ , _Robinson Crusoe_ , _Treasure Island_ , _The Old Man and the Sea_ , a bookmarked poetry book which held, notably, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", and a thin copy of _The Little Mermaid_ , the binding of which being completely nonexistent.

But there were also plenty of sea voyage stories, some of which Maxie had never even heard of, coupled with at least three books on the Pokemon Kyogre. He pulled from the shelf a newer one titled _The Hoenn Creation Myth: Groudon and Kyogre_ and flipped it open.

“Admiring my collection?”

Maxie turned around. Archie was watching him with his head propped up in his hand.

“Yes, in fact, I was.” Maxie said. “You certainly have a love for the classics. No offense, but you don’t seem the type.”

“None taken. I get it a lot.” Archie said. “Kinda sad that everyone thinks you can’t have the best of both worlds, be tough  _and_  well read.”

He got up from the couch and walked over to the bookshelf. Carefully, he pulled out the worn copy of The Little Mermaid. “When I was eight I used to beg my dad to read this one every single night.” He said with a smile, remembering the memory fondly. “I never got tired of it, not even once.”

He turned the book over and opened to the very last page. Inside was a long note written in messy handwriting.

“When I was nine, though, I thought the mermaid should have a better ending. It made me so sad that she died like that.” He said. “Y’know, unhappy and alone. So I rewrote the ending so she could end up with her prince. I thought it was the coolest thing so I used to read it back to my dad. Reads kinda weird now, though. Just goes to show you that I’m not much of a writer!”

He closed the book and replaced it on the shelf.

“You ever have a book like that, Maxie?”

“Ah…”

He thought back to his childhood of carrying around a slightly too heavy book with him everywhere he went, filling it with his little sketches and”important” documents.

“I used to have an encyclopedia of rocks.” Maxie said. “I would write in the margins whenever I found a rock that was pictured in it. And I highlighted all of the words I didn’t know so I could look them up later. Which was…most of the book.”

“Hah! A rock guy even from the beginning.” Archie chuckled.

“You could say that.”

Maxie paged through the book in his hands, admiring a few of the cleaner, nicer pictures inside, before he set it down on the coffee table. He’d read it later.

Returning to the bookshelf, his eyes caught something that he hadn’t noticed before. Propping up a shorter line of books was a very fancy bookend lovingly carved from sandstone in the shape of a Sharpedo jumping up and out of the water to get to a Spheal. It was worn, grimy, and looked to be at least twice Archie’s age. A family heirloom, perhaps?

But that wasn’t what caught his attention. It was the little blue eyeglass case next to it that did.

“Oh? Now, what might this be?” Maxie picked up the case and gently opened it. A pair of glasses framed with blue plastic were sitting neatly inside. “I didn’t peg you to be the glasses-wearing type, Archie.”

“I—Hey!”

“Well?”

“They’re  _reading_  glasses.” Archie said, reaching for them. Maxie held them out of his reach. “And you weren’t supposed to see them. I-I don’t even use them that much!”

“Arceus, that’s adorable.” Maxie said, snickering to himself as he skillfully avoided Archie. “You’re like a little old man who doesn’t want to admit he’s getting older. There’s no shame in glasses, you know.”

“Hey! Who you callin’ old?” Archie growled. “I’m like three years younger than you! Gimme back those glasses, ya jerk!” Maxie had one final laugh before Archie ripped them away from him and placed them back on the shelf. “Honestly.”

“Can you blame me? It was just too good to resist.”

Archie seemed grumpy for only a moment more before he grabbed Maxie and ruffled up his hair. Maxie yelped and let out an annoyed, “ _Archibald_!” as he tried to escape. Archie started laughing. Maxie glared up at him. It was fair, probably. He’d taunted Archie, Archie was exacting his revenge.

But Maxie never played fair.

“Hahahaha!” Archie laughed. “Your hair’s all fluffed up like a—mmph!”

Taken by surprise, Archie was silenced by a kiss. He let go of Maxie. Said person smirked up at him, pleased with himself.

“I win.”

“Yer just not fair.” Archie said with a frown. “Using yer most powerful weapon against me.”

They kissed again, though there was more passion and less diabolical motives in it this time. And more tongue. Maxie ran his fingers through Archie’s hair. Somewhere in the middle of it they retreated to the couch, and somehow Maxie managed to pin Archie underneath him.

“You know, Archie,” Maxie said, toying with a button on Archie’s brand new dress shirt, “this doesn’t really suit you. I think it’d look better on the floor.”

“Heh.” Archie chuckled, sneaking a few of his fingers underneath the fabric of Maxie’s sweater. “I could say the same about this stupid sweater of yours.”

One by one the buttons came undone, and underneath the fancy button up was a simple white tank top shirt. Rather than remove it right away, Maxie snuck a hand underneath it, running his fingers along Archie’s muscles gently, admiring them. Archie sighed.

“Maxie, I—”

“ _Rowf_!”

The noise startled them. They turned to see Mightyena sitting beside the couch. It was wagging its tail and holding a rubber dog bone in it’s mouth, with shoelaces of drool hanging down. It wanted to play fetch. The atmosphere from before faded away. Maxie took his hand out from under Archie’s shirt.

“Archie.”

“Yeah?”

“I thought your Pokemon were in their Pokeballs.”

“That’s what I thought, too. Guess not.”

Once Archie found Mightyena’s Pokeball, he returned it and placed it with the others. Maxie decided that it was better to take this into the bedroom where there was at least a lock on the door.

“Alright. So.” Maxie settled into Archie’s lap. “Where was I?”

“You said something about my shirt lookin’ better on the floor?” Archie said with a smirk.

“Ah. Right.”

The offending button up was tossed to the side. Then went the undershirt. Maxie’s eyes roamed his body for a moment. Archie certainly took good care of himself, that was for sure. He ran his hands up his sides. Archie was busying himself with Maxie’s sweater, which came off in one fluid moment, leaving a black undershirt that exposed Maxie’s shoulders.

Archie suddenly stopped and stared, mouth hanging open.

“What?” Maxie said. “What is it?”

“Ya’ve got freckles on your shoulders.” Archie said, reaching out and rubbing his thumb over said shoulders gently as if the freckles on them would rub off. “ _Loads_  of them. Holy shit, they’re taking over your arms, too.”

Maxie tensed. “…Yes, unfortunately.” He said, crossing his arms in a feeble attempt to hide them. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Hell no.” Archie said. He gently undid Maxie’s scrawny arms and held them, looking at them lovingly and following the trail of freckles all the way up to Maxie’s eyes. Then, he kissed Maxie on the cheek. “It’s just what I was hoping for. More freckles.”

Maxie turned away for a moment, huffing. “It’s just like you to say that.” He grumbled. But then he glanced back with a new gleam in his eye. “…Although…if that’s what you want, you ought to see where  _else_  I have freckles.”

“Oh?” Archie snaked an arm around Maxie’s back. “Is that an invitation?”

Maxie shook his head and leaned in close to Archie’s ear. “Consider it a—”

“—Mel.”

Maxie’s face dropped to a scowl. He pulled back from Archie. A pair of round yellow ears appeared at the edge of the bed. Numel let out another quiet noise in an attempt to catch its master’s attention. Maxie sighed irritatedly.

“I can’t win.”

Archie looked toward Numel, who was giving him its best fierce look, with an eyebrow raised. “Okay, now I  _know_  that one was in its ball.” He said. “Didn’t see you let Numel out once tonight.”

Maxie put a hand to his forehead. “It must have come out on its own. I wasn’t aware that it could do that.”

“Num. Numel.”

They both stared at it as it pushed on the bed. “No.” Maxie said. “Return to your ball. I’m busy right now.” A thump. Numel put its front legs up against the bed frame in an attempt to climb onto the bed. “ _No_ , Numel.”

“Alright, hold on a tic.” Archie slid out from under him and put his legs over the side of the bed. Numel’s ears wiggled. He picked it up effortlessly and walked over to the door. He unlocked it and set Numel down outside it. “There ya go, little scamp.”

Numel looked displeased as the door shut and locked. No amount of scratching distracted its master this time.

* * *

 

_“What’re you doing?”_

_Maxie looked up. Though it was hard to tell exactly who it was without his glasses, he could swear that it was the dark-haired boy from science class._

_He made an effort to hide his broken glasses with his hands. One of the bullies had decided that Maxie was walking too close to him and ended up making the final blow to Maxie’s already feeble glasses which caused one of the sides to break right off._

_“Nothing.” He said quickly, before he changed his mind and added, “…I’m trying to fix my glasses. Again. Are you sure you even want to be near me?”_

_“Why wouldn’t I?”_

_Maxie opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. It wasn’t possible that he didn’t hear the rumors, was it? Everyone and their mother probably knew about the weird gay nerd named Maxie. He let out a sigh. The boy reached over him and grabbed his glasses._

_“Hey, this doesn’t look so bad!” He said. “I can fix this real easy.”_

_“You can?”_

_There was a shuffling sound, and then Maxie heard masking tape being pulled. A few minutes later, the other boy handed him his glasses. Though the taped side was a bit wobbly and didn’t sit quite right, it’d do. He looked up._

_“…I guess this’ll work ‘til I get my spare pair at home.” Maxie said, trying to hide a smile._

_“It should hold you for even longer than that.” The boy said. “Mine break all the time and tape always holds them for a while.”_

_That was when Maxie noticed the other boy’s glasses. They were taped across the bridge of his nose, and on the side, and even where it held the lenses. He blinked._

_“…They didn’t break your glasses too, did they?”_

_“Yeah, they did this time. But this kinda stuff happens all the time.” He said. “They’re kinda old and I need new ones anyway.” He extended a hand to Maxie, who flinched. “I don’t think we’ve ever talked before. You’re Maxie right?”_

_Maxie only nodded._

_“Well, my name’s Ein. Don’t we have the same science class?”_

_“Y…Yeah, you sit a couple seats in front of me, right?”_

_The way Ein talked to him, he wondered if he was just blissfully unaware of all the rumors that were flying around about Maxie. But Maxie decided that he didn’t care one way or the other. He seemed nice enough._

_And it was good to have at least somebody who would talk to him._

* * *

 

One of the perks of being in Team Rocket was that there was constantly new and improved supplies coming in, much to Maxie’s delight.

Brand new beakers, test tubes, hardness kits, and a variety of new samples from all over the world poured in. Freshly discovered fossils of all shapes and sizes were pouring into his hands. Maybe it was wrong to use these things, they were probably stolen after all, but the sheer excitement that they instilled in Maxie overpowered the guilt.

And of course there was also the opportunity to see his favorite lughead lifting ridiculously heavy things for him and flex a few of his more prominent muscles. That was always a pleasant sight to see.

“The hell’s in this box?”

Archie hefted a heavily taped box with one hand, frowning at it. Maxie pulled his arm down to view the box at eye level. He squinted to read the messy scrawl that was some other scientist’s handwriting before marking a tally sheet he had on a clipboard.

“Fossils, I think.”

“The fuck?” Archie groaned. “Why are we hauling rocks around?”

“ _Fossils_ , Archie. Not rocks.” Maxie reminded him. “Cinnabar Island Tech. discovered a method of reviving fossils to their prior state. Ingenious technology. You were busy being the muscle of the operation on Mt. Moon so you probably didn’t notice exactly what we were doing there.”

“Maybe.” He held the box with both hands, seeming to have decided that letting a bunch of priceless fossils fall to the ground and shatter was probably a bad idea. “What kinds of fossils did we end up finding?”

“It was mostly Kabuto and Omanyte. Kanto is a bit fossil-poor in terms of finds.” 

“Huh. No Relicanth or Tirtouga?”

Maxie raised an eyebrow at him. “Why Relicanth and Tirtouga?”

“Water Pokemon are the best!”

Maxie snorted. A true man of the sea would collect as many water types as possible, wouldn’t he? Still, Archie looked more like the kind of person who would have a small army of Tyrunt and Cranidos rather than a wriggling Omanyte and clumsy Tirtouga.

But Maxie could easily picture him filling his already cramped apartment with another couple of pools to suit more Water-types. And he could already see himself tripping and falling into said pools.

“Regardless if we had found any, I’m certain they wouldn’t let you keep them. Revived fossils can be sold for plenty of money in the right market and with the right collector.”

“That’s true. Sucks.”

Maxie picked up another box from the floor and stacked it on top of the one Archie had in his hands. Archie grunted, but otherwise didn’t react. Maxie noted the remaining boxes in the room, counted them, and made notes on the paper.

“Maxie these are the third and fourth boxes I’ve carried down two flights of stairs for you.” He said. “How many more rock boxes are there?”

“Only a couple more.”

“Ughh…”

“Don’t complain.” Maxie said. “You did sign up to help me today, remember?”

“Yeah, but, I thought that’d be more of you and me alone time and less rocks.” Archie grumbled. “But then again every single thing we do involves rocks, doesn’t it? Cerulean Cave rocks, those rocks with Mew on them, the rocks in your house…”

“For the umpteenth time, Archie, I’m a geologist. Rocks are my business.”

“C’moooon.” Archie whined. “Can’t we like…take a break for a bit? Go get lunch, relax, get up to a bit of smooching…”

Maxie scowled. “ _Archibald_.”

“We both know that nobody’s in storeroom number two at this time of day.” He said with a wink. “Nobody’s gonna catch us. And those rocks sure aren’t going nowhere. There’s still plenty of time to get this done.”

It had been a long day full of new things moving around.  Maxie had to agree that a break would be nice. But leaving the work to sit when he didn’t have an official break simply didn’t sit right with him.

“No. We’re finishing what we started.”

“Aww, what…”

Maxie tucked the clipboard under his arm and directed Archie to the door. The other grudgingly walked toward it, muttering to himself. Maxie watched him with a straight face for a long moment. Then he went in for the kill.

“ _Whoa_!”

Archie yelped when his behind was grabbed. He looked at Maxie, caught off guard completely. The other glanced up at him, looked back at the paper, and then smirked deviously. He wandered off into the stairwell with a wave for Archie to follow.

Suddenly Archie had a new bounce in his step.


	5. Act II Part II

_The years went by, and Maxie’s father gradually became more and more scarce as time passed. Maxie opened up again as he came to know his only friend better and the bullies dropped out to become Pokemon Trainers and thugs. Passing his classes with flying colors should have impressed his father, but the man was too preoccupied with work to notice._

_Maxie was left to pick up where he left off._

_“Hey! Maxie! You coming?”_

_Ein waved to him from the front window. Maxie gave him a half wave back. “Just a second.” He said. “There’s something I need to do first.”_

_After picking up a few folders and a rolled up poster board, all the things they needed for next week’s science project, he walked calmly down the hall to the room where his father was working._

_Or, at least, where he should have been working. All he could hear coming from the room was snoring._

_He slipped inside unnoticed and carefully placed the bottles dribbling off the side of the table upright. His father was snoring away at the desk, drooling onto his crudely written notes. The walls were covered in detailed diagrams of machine parts, concept art, and a few different maps of the world._

_But one wall in particular held numerous large pieces of art that his father had drawn of a machine he’d never seen before. It was bulky and yellow with a large robotic arm attached to one side. He’d heard some of the men who came to the door every single weekend without fail for years now mention it._

_Now he understood what they were talking about._

_“Can’t…can’t build it…”_

_His father muttered in his sleep. His hand twitched. Maxie pulled a blanket off of the little twin bed in the corner and draped it over his father’s shoulders. He shifted underneath it and groaned._

_Maxie headed for the door._

_“No such thing…as a Snag Machine…”_

 

* * *

 

“Archie, boss needs ya out in front.”

Archie was helping Maxie count and sort through stocks of Pokeballs to be distributed out to newer grunts, namely those containing Grimer, Rattata, and Koffing. They had just gotten through one of the boxes before one of Archie’s friends appeared in the doorway.

“What for?” Archie said. “I’m kinda busy.”

The grunt pointed up. “There’s some kind of fight going on upstairs.” He said. “Can’t tell what’s going on, but I think there are people battling Pokemon in the casino.”

Archie raised an eyebrow. He gave Maxie an apologetic look before he walked toward the door.

“I’ll check it out and be right back, ‘kay?”

Maxie only nodded. Archie disappeared. He continued on with counting, quietly making note of the time. He picked up a ball, logged it, and then stuck it in another box.

Five minutes became fifteen. Fifteen became an hour. He looked at the door worriedly. What kind of fight was going on up there? The last time there had been a fight it was simply a drunk old man trying to destroy a slot machine.

Maybe, Maxie thought to himself,  it would be a good idea to check on him. Just to ease his mind.

That was the moment that the alarm sounded. The room’s emergency lights flashed red. Maxie jolted and looked up at them.

“That…that can’t be a good sign.”

He pulled himself to his feet and hurried out of the room. The red lights lining the ceiling continued to flash. Apparently his fellow scientists were just as confused, as they were hurrying away toward the elevator to figure out just what was going on.

Following them took him by the archive room. The door was wide open and the lights, which were usually dimmed or off, were glaringly bright.

Restricted to only high ranking Rockets armed with Card Keys, Maxie had never had the opportunity to get in. But, to Maxie’s luck, someone was oblivious enough to forget the locked door rule. While the others were scrambling around like a swarm of angry Beedrill, he slipped inside unnoticed.

The room held absolutely no computers, instead there was cabinet after filing cabinet. Maxie slowly walked around them reading each and every name; ‘Mt. Moon Fossil Excavation’, ‘Pokemon Tower’, ‘Celadon City Game Corner Records’, ‘Project Mew’.

He stopped at that one and opened it up. Within it were countless files of names, theories, places, and concepts. Among this list was a file for Cerulean Cave. He pulled it out and opened it.

“The cave is known for its high level Pokemon…A high chance that strong Pokemon gather there…” Maxie skimmed the document and flipped a few pages ahead. “…According to legend, there have been signs of Mew in the area. Locals report unconfirmed sightings…for centuries?”

He closed the file. He of course knew that Mew indeed had been there, having experienced seeing it for himself, but the Rockets knew this as well?

“Then what even was the point of sending me out?” He muttered to himself. “Busywork? They could have just sent a team in to…”

Maxie shook his head. He put the folder back and closed the drawer. He continued searching through the collection, looking for anything interesting, unknown, new. eventually he happened upon a corner of the room where the light was flickering. Here there was a single, solitary standing filing cabinet; ‘Legendary Pokemon: Collected Intel’.

Upon opening it he found that the cabinet was stuffed to the brim with thick folders. Years and years of collecting data and research went into these. He flipped through them. Zapdos, Suicune, Lugia, Dialga, Palkia, Heatran—and then he came across an older one labeled ‘Groudon’.

The file was thinner compared to the others yet still was packed with pictures and papers. Maxie skimmed through them. Cave art, murals, oral and written legends. More than the average person could possibly want about Groudon.

Though he wasn’t the average person, was he?

A loud bang rang out through the base. It shook a bit. Maxie tucked the folder underneath his arm and closed the drawer.

He needed to find Archie.

He hurried out the door and into the streams of Rocket grunts running every which way now in a panic. Some were yelling, some were carrying fainted Pokemon, and others were ducking into the rooms to hide. He couldn’t see Archie anywhere.

“Archie!” He called into the crowd. “Archie, where are you?”

There was another explosion from down the main hall. He spotted a Hyper Beam knocking a cluster of Koffing into a wall. The bright white light reminded him of the cave. The explosion that had nearly ended them.

Time stopped.

Someone was shouting. Grunts yelling battle cries rushed to the end of the hall with Pokeballs in their hands. More shouting.

He still couldn’t see Archie. Where was Archie?

Better judgement kept him planted in the center of the hall even as people were giving him commands. But he still stared silently to where the battling was going on. He couldn’t see the other Pokemon. But anything that could deliver a Hyper Beam that powerful was of legendary caliber at least.

And Archie was just stupid enough to plunge himself into danger. Especially if it meant protecting the Rocket Base with Maxie in it.

Someone grabbed his arm. Maxie whipped around to face Archer.

“Get your ass in gear!” He yelled over the grunts. “Get to Silph Co.! Now!”

Maxie was shoved into the river of grunts headed toward one of the exits. He hurriedly looked around him, trying to find any sign of Archie among the grunts. But he wasn’t around. Maxie was surrounded by nearly identical grunts in identical uniforms. He held the folder tight to his chest.

Hopefully Archie was at Silph Co. Hopefully he’d be out of harm’s way.

 

* * *

 

Walking in through the doors of Silph Co. was strange, to say the least. It was hard to believe that a few years ago Maxie had been working for these people, making coffee and donut runs for them and listening to them all joke about him.

But the thought didn’t linger long. His primary goal was to find out where Archie was.

He discovered the elevator to be conveniently out of order so he made for the stairs. After hearing from a grunt that the majority of them were clustered on the third floor, he scaled the stairs frantically. There were still grunts holding off the intruder back at the Celadon base. It was very possible that Archie was there with them.

He hurried past nameless grunts, tiny cubicles, and locked rooms where people were pounding on the doors to get out. But one of the large meeting rooms at the end of the hall was full of grunts. Most of them were tending to minor injuries, bruises, scratches, and burns. They were all discussing the trainer.

“I ‘eard the guy was six feet tall!”

“Nah man, he was tall but he wasn’t  _that_  tall! And he had a Moltres! I saw it blazing up the entire right wing of the base!”

“That wasn’t a Moltres ya moron! It was a Charizard!”

“He did have a Zapdos, though! I saw it! Thing was fucking scary as hell.”

Maxie scanned each face for Archie. None of them seemed to notice him in the doorway. The grunts in the room were all lean and nowhere near Archie’s level of muscle. He checked again, and again, hoping that someone within their numbers would pop out and hug him. No one did.

“Have…Have any of you seen Archie anywhere?” He spoke up, catching their attention. When nobody answered, he raised his voice. “Dark hair, lots of it, about this tall—!”

“Yeah. I saw him.” A taller grunt spoke up. “He was up on the second floor with a couple other guys.”

“Is he still in there?”

“No.”

Maxie let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Good. Archie was out, he was okay, it would be alright, all he had to do was find him again. “Okay. Good. Now can you tell me which room he—”

“He’s not in the building, if that’s what you’re asking.” He said. “Try the hospital.”

Hospital. That word rang in his ears and silenced everything. The grunts around him started to debate among themselves just how he ended up like that, how badly he was hurt and what had caused the injury in the first place. Suddenly Maxie felt ten years older than he was.

“I heard it was an Articuno!” One grunt said. “A big, fat Articuno blasting out Blizzards like no tomorrow. Bet it froze his hands off”

“There weren’t no stupid legendary birds there, ya idiot, so stop sayin’ that!”

“Think it was a Rhydon? Bet a Rhydon drilled right through him!”

“Yer just shoutin’ out names now!”

Maxie staggered out of the doorway and into the hall. The noise of the grunts talking and laughing at each other was drowned out. Worst fears confirmed, he rushed away back the way he came, head in a fog.

The comments from the grunts lingered on his mind—the explosive power in the base, what was that? What had done Archie in?

Pokemon battles were one thing, each individual monster had about the same power and ability to withstand most attacks with only minimal damage and, at worst, fainted. Attacks on people were an entirely different story. Even small, cuddly Pokemon could cause severe damage to their trainers and others when they weren’t properly tamed.

Archie could have just broken an arm or a leg. But he could have also been seriously burned, had something chopped off, or even been mentally destroyed by a Psychic-type. He squeezed his eyes shut.

No, no. He could handle this. In their line of work, danger was bound to happen. Of course Archie would have been injured in something like this. It was only a matter of time, and if it wasn’t now then it’d happen later. He tried to steel over his face as he walked briskly in the direction of the hospital.

It wasn’t until he made it to the lobby that he managed to calm himself down enough to inquire about Archie’s whereabouts without stuttering. After a series of questions, a nurse not too unlike the Pokemon Center nurses directed him to his room.

“It’s a shame that he’s a member of Team Rocket.” She said to him. “He’s been quite the gentlemen today.”

Maxie only nodded. The nurse chattered on but he didn’t bother to listen.

The walls of the hallway were unnaturally white, sterile, pale. Their footsteps echoed down the hall and made a ghostly empty sound. Hospitals, no matter how well cleaned or maintained, always had that air of death to Maxie. That’s why he tried to avoid them whenever possible.

He counted the numbers on doors and peered inside each room. Other Rockets were scattered about with regular patients moaning or complaining about their situation. Some were in casts, others had faces full of bandages unsuccessfully trying to hide large burns. One was missing the first section of his right arm.

Archie was nowhere to be seen. Maxie wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad thing.

“Here we are!”

The nurse stopped abruptly and gestured to a room at the far end of the hall. Maxie’s feet suddenly became cement cinder blocks. He glanced at the nurse, who gave him a small smile before walking off from whence they had come. He reached for the door handle with a shaky hand and slowly opened it.

“Ar…Archie?”

He found him laying in bed asleep. His face had been wrapped and wrapped again with stained bandages that obscured the majority of his face. An iv ran through his arm, the one that wasn’t bandaged in a thick cast. He seemed at peace, tranquil enough, but that didn’t calm Maxie any.

Mightyena was resting at his feet. It perked up when Maxie approached and wagged its tail when he scratched the top its head. Its front paws were bandaged as was its left ear, but other than that it seemed miraculously okay.

He wished he could say the same about Archie.

When Archie stirred and looked at him, eyes half lidded with a weak little smile, that was when Maxie finally lost it.

“You…You big, stupid… _oaf_!” Maxie yelled at him.

“Heh. Nice to see you too.” He reached up with his good hand, the one with the IV, and clutched at his head. “It’s…well, I wish I could say it’s not as bad as it looks, but I’m feelin’ pretty lousy. Nurse said I lost a lot of blood.”

“What the hell were you thinking?” Maxie continued, glaring holes into him. Archie simply smiled back, unaffected. “Beating up a team of Rockets is one thing, but that! That was suicide, Archie! I saw those Pokemon taking out  _swarms_ of Rockets. What if one of those attacks hit you directly? What if there was a Psychic-type? What if—!”

“Settle down, Max. I’m alright. I just got…grazed a little. Could’ve been way worse.” Archie’s face softened. “…‘Sides, tears don’t really suit ya.”

Maxie paused to yank the glasses off of his face and furiously rub at his eyes. “Shut up. You’re the one who went and made me like this. It’s all your fault.” He said. “Arceus. When the other grunts at Silph told me you’d been taken here…”

“I’m too tough to go out like that, Maxie. You know that.”

“I also know you’re more than willing to jump in front of a bus if it means keeping me out of harm’s way.”

Archie laughed. “Call it a weakness.” Then the smile slipped away into a thoughtful frown. He reached out to Maxie and gently brushed a few stray hairs from his face. “…You’re okay though, aren’t you? You got out of Celadon without getting hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Maxie caught Archie’s hand before he withdrew it. “I made it out just fine.”

“So it wasn’t all for nothin’ then.”

Maxie shook his head. “…Really, though. Can you try not to put yourself in any more danger on my behalf?”

“Maybe if you stay outta trouble.” He chuckled. “No guarantees, though.”

With nothing else in his schedule, Maxie stayed behind with Archie, talking through the day’s events and other mindless things. At one point Archie inquired about the folder in Maxie’s hands and the other ended up giving it to him to look at.

“Hey! It’s Groudon!”

“Why, yes. Yes it is.”

“You’re familiar with the whole Groudon and Kyogre myth, aren’t ya?” Archie asked. “How they’re supposed to be rivals and fought each other back in the day?” He slowly browsed through the pictures. “Funny how you ended up with Groudon and I ended up with Kyogre.”

“‘Ended up with’?”

“Yeah. I like Kyogre, you like Groudon.”

“Perhaps that’s because  _you_  are smitten with the sea and I happen to study things that are predominantly land-based.” Maxie said. “And I wouldn’t say I like Groudon so much as it…interests me. The myth is a bit farfetched, but Groudon’s supposed powers would explain certain land formations in Hoenn.”

This made Archie grin widely.

“Y’ought to see what Kyogre did to it, too. I’m tellin’ ya, it’s pretty damn incredible.”

A couple hours later, Maxie was shooed out of Archie’s room by a couple doctors. The door shut behind him. Instead of heading home he decided to simply wait until they were finished. Archie didn’t have much patience when it came to sitting still and doing nothing, after all, and the last thing he wanted to hear was that he got up and left the bed looking for something to do.

However, not even a minute later, someone approached him.

“Hey.”

He turned to his right. A Rocket grunt appeared from the shadows.

“You and him, you were the ones who were working on the Cerulean Cave case, am I right?”

“And what if we were?” Maxie said stiffly. “What does it matter to you? Who are you?”

“Name’s Proton. I’m the one who’s been working Nugget Bridge over in Cerulean, y’see.” He leaned up against the wall casually with a smile on his face. “I’m the best in the business when it comes to recruitment. And those that don’t join willingly, I…convince.”

There was something about the way he said convince that unnerved Maxie beyond words.

“You’re telling me this why?” Maxie said.

Proton seemed to not be paying much attention to him. He admired his fingernails.

“A few months ago I was working late. Nothing big, only a few trainers head up to that fancy house up top the hill around that time. Color me surprised when the damn cave next to me fucking ripped itself a new one and caused an explosion loud enough to rouse the dead!” He smirked. “And lo and behold, what came streaming out of that cave? The exact Pokemon we’ve been looking for.”

Maxie’s eyes widened and he straightened up. Proton came closer and walked in a slow circle around him. “Is….Is that so.” Maxie said, doing his best to keep his voice steady. “Fancy that.”

“Don’t play games with me!” He snapped. “You were there, weren’t you? You were trying to capture Mew before we did,  _weren’t_  you?”

“I….A-Absolutely not.” Maxie said, putting on his best intimidating face. “We were…I was…our research was on the cave Pokemon, we weren’t expecting to find something like that deep within the depths of that cave.”

“Ha! Liar. Liar, liar,  _liar_!” Proton chanted. He eyed Maxie dangerously. “I saw you, both of you. Mucking up our plans like that stupid kid—What kind of Rockets even  _are_  you?” He seized Maxie’s arm, making the other flinch. “You know I could have easily gone and squealed to the boss. I could’ve told Giovanni that you and him snuck out to put a stopper on everything he worked so hard for. But I didn’t out of the kindness of my dark, dark heart.”

“Somehow,” Maxie said, “I don’t believe that.”

“Smart. You shouldn’t.” He grabbed the collar of Maxie’s sweater and yanked down on it, pulling Maxie to eye level. Maxie choked. “You have no fucking clue how much the boss wants that Mew. You have _no fucking clue_  what plans we have.”

“Gkh—!”

“Let me make this a little more clear for you.” He grabbed the sweater with both hands and shoved Maxie into the wall with a much greater force than Maxie expected from him. “The reason I didn’t sing like a Chatot, the reason I _didn’t_  send the boss’s top goons out to skin you sons of bitches was because I saw a golden opportunity here.”

Proton’s gaze fell on the door beside them. Maxie followed it. Archie’s room.

“Leave him out of this.” Maxie said, sounding a bit too rushed. “He’s completely innocent, he had nothing to do with—!”

“Yeah, see, I don’t give a flying fuck.” Proton said. “But clearly  _you_  do. And if you do exactly what I say, then things are going to go swimmingly. He walks out of here all smiles and rainbows.” He wiggled his fingers in Maxie’s face.

“And…if I don’t?” Maxie asked.

“Then you’ll have a great time picking what’s  _left_  of him out of the teeth of Sharpedo.” Proton said without a beat, eyes fierce. “I don’t like being tested. Pisses me right off, it does. If you need an example, then I’m more than willing to go in there and show you.”

“No! No, no…I…”

“You what?”

“I…I got it. I understand.”

Proton released him. Maxie gasped and clutched at his neck, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“Great! Fabulous, even. I love it when my pep talks go well.” Proton said with a laugh. “So, here’s the plan. You’re going to figure out where that thing went, you’re going to  _find_  it, and then you report directly to  _me_.”

“What about—”

“Giovanni doesn’t have to know shit about this. It’s just you and me in on this one.” Proton shrugged and lifted his hands into the air in a nonchalant gesture. “He’ll have his Mew later, so who cares?” Proton turned away from him. “You just focus on your end of the deal, Red, and that fuck buddy of yours will heal up nice and easy.”

He left Maxie there in the hospital without another word.


	6. Act II Part III

“ _…And that includes our program ‘The Search for Red Gyarados’! Tonight’s special will include a special talk by renowned researcher…_ ”

“Awww what? Seriously? That’s it? What a fucking letdown!”

Maxielooked up at the screen for a moment when Archie gestured at it. He wasn’treally paying attention to the television, or whatever garbage was on, but Archie seemed enthralled by it. And as it just so happened, Maxie was settled down on his lap so there wasn’t really a chance to escape the noise.

Lucky for the both of them, Team Rocket had scattered everyone and let the scientists lay low for a bit until they could find a new place to hide. Giovanni was funneling whoever he could find into the Silph Co. operation to start the newest leg of some grand master scheme save for Maxie, who was unnecessary, and Archie, who was injured.

In the meantime, Archie had come home and was recovering. Bandages were still coating his face and the cast had since been coated with blue material. The scratches on his face would probably scar, or so the doctor had told him, but Archie didn’t seem put off by this at all. Nor did he even seem affected as his behavior was the same as ever.

Maxie flipped to the next page in his book about Cinnabar Island’s volcano.

“Damn, wouldn’t a red Gyarados be rad as hell?” Archie said. Maxie looked back up at him. “I mean, Gyarados is already fucking amazing, but a red one’s twice that!”

“I suppose.” Maxie replied, looking back down at the book. “Alternately colored Pokemon don’t usually have any enhanced stats, moves, or…anything, though. It’s purely aesthetic. A red Gyarados would be just as powerful and dangerous as a blue one.”

“Yeah, so? Still gotta love shinies!”

A commercial popped on the television about dog Pokemon biscuits. Mightyena’s head popped up from the floor when it heard the sound of a box’s contents moving around. Its ear twitched as it sniffed at the screen. It whined.

“Hahaha! Sorry, boy, no doggie biscuits for you. Ya didn’t do anything to earn it!” Archie pat it on the head. “Maybe some other time, huh?”

Then he looked down at Maxie’s book.

“That’s some volcano book, huh?”

“I’m certainly enjoying it, if that’s what you mean.”

Archie perched his chin on top of Maxie’s head. “Don’t know much about volcanoes.” He said. “Other than they’re hot and dangerous. Kinda like you.” He grinned. “‘Is that why you love them so much?”

Maxie made a face and shoved Archie away. Archie laughed. Another commercial came on TV. The noise of it blended with the air conditioning unit, Mightyena’s whining, and the quiet trilling of the Golbat in the far corner of the room. But Maxie vaguely picked up a sentence.

“ _…If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?_ ”

“More water.”

Maxie looked at him as if he’d said the most idiotic thing of all idiotic things.

“Archie, _please_  tell me that you’re aware of how seventy percent of the earth is covered by water.”

“Yup.”

“Why, might I ask, do you think we need  _more_  of it?”

“For Pokemon!”

Archie said it as if it were the most obvious answer ever. Maxie frowned.

“Elaborate.”

“Well…I mean, life all came from the sea, right?” Archie said. “If you go back far enough, you can trace our own ancestors to the beach, where we all walked out on fins and developed lungs ‘n…well, took our first wary steps up on the rocks. Then everything went up from there! But, like, that first step had to come from the sea. Nothing even  _existed_  on land still sea stuff conquered it. No plants, no atmosphere, nothing.”

Maxie blinked, but said nothing. Archie was surprisingly well read in these topics.

“Think about it. The sea is super huge, super deep, and hell—We don’t even know nothing about it! Think of all the Pokemon that we still haven’t discovered! And there might be more fossils swimming around down there. Remember when someone fished up that Relicanth a few years back? We all thought that thing’d been dead for years and there it was, still fighting, still hanging in there.”

“If you ask me, more sea means more Pokemon, and more Pokemon means more diversity. I think it’d be one hell of a cool place if there were even  _more_  sea Pokemon.” Archie said. “And there are places like Pacifidlog Town, where people live right on the edge between civilization and the wild. I’d love to see more places like that!”

Archie’s plan was interesting, idealistic, and probably over-exaggerated. It had its key points, though. Yet Maxie couldn’t see anyone outside of Pacifidlog Town enjoying the idea of being forced to live directly over the ocean seas on rafts and floats.

He was practically beaming, clearly in love with this idea. Maxie couldn’t cut him down too badly. Not without feeling guilty about it.

“Mmm…” Maxie nodded slowly. “I do see where you’re coming from, in a way. But I think it’s a little short sighted and your thoughts are blinded by your love of water, Archie.”

He sat up on Archie’s lap and eyed the television with a calculated gaze.

“The earth is seventy percent water and thirty percent land.” Maxie said. “The evolution of humanity as we know it today was  _only_  possible through access to land. On it, we built villages, communities, networks, trade routes, cities, and empires. Pokemon diversity can also be taken into consideration. There are just as many, if not more, species that dwell on land.”

“We have conquered most of this planet and yet we are still exploring, discovering, and finding new places. And yet…that thirty percent of land is not all habitable by humans of Pokemon.”

He gestured at his volcano book.

“…When a volcano erupts, it can be very dangerous. Lava pours out from the mouth, smoke spews into the air, and the lahar cloud of ash and debris destroys all plant and animal life in its path.”

He looked down at the pages of the book with a small smile.

“And yet…out of the chaos springs life. The fertile soil produced by a volcano created the tiny lush islands people love today. Some of the most amazing and beautiful Pokemon evolved on these islands as well.”

Maxie sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He felt Archie cuddle up to him from behind.

“I grew up in a place where people fought for even the tiniest scraps. Land, water, food, Pokemon, everything could be fought over.” Maxie said, voice growing quieter. “If…Maybe if the land could be expanded, fertile soil relocated and made accessible, we would have less of those fights. Food and water would be easier to acquire. New communities would develop in these places. New discoveries could be made, new Pokemon might develop…”

He stopped talking and shook his head.

“Ah…” He said with a chuckle, pushing the bridge of his glasses up with a finger. “Sorry, I’m afraid I got caught up in the moment.”

Maxie looked at Archie. He was watching him endearingly.

“Makes sense.” He said. “I mean, I still think there’s never too much of a good thing when it comes to water but…I get it. Ya like looking out for people. That’s your thing. Nothin’ wrong with that.”  He nuzzled Maxie with his chin. The other grumbled something at him. “‘Sides, you’re really cute when you ramble.”

“Shut up, Archie. Don’t make me hurt you.”

“You? Hurt me?” Archie let out a string of chuckles. “No offense, Max, but I’m at least five inches taller than you. And stronger. And let’s not forget that I—Ha! Hahahaha!”

Archie only had one weak spot. Maxie was thin and out of shape, a bad combination for a battler, but when it came to tactics and strategies he knew what he was doing. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and unleashed the full power of his one foolproof attack.

To lower an opponent’s Attack and Defense stats, one needed to use Tickle.

“Fuck! That’s…pfff! Th-that just ain’t fair!”

“All’s fair in love and war, Archie.”

As Archie flailed around with his free arm and tried to escape Maxie’s diabolical attacks, the two tumbled off of the couch and onto the carpet. Maxie was quick to trap him before he could run off and continued the onslaught. Mightyena looked on, confused as to what was happening.

“But you aren’t—Hahaha!  _Fuck_!—Ticklish!” Archie said in between laughing fits. “How am I…supposed to fight back?”

“You don’t.” Maxie grinned down at him. “You surrender and acknowledge  _my_  superiority. You’re already wounded, Archie. It’s best to simply give in.”

“Hell nah, I don’t give up that easily!”

“ _We bring you breaking news from Lavender Town!_ ”

Maxie stopped tickling. Archie took the opportunity to seize him and swap their positions. “Hahaha!” Archie said. “Got you now!”

“Archie, quiet!”

They both looked toward the television. A picture of the Pokemon Tower was featured on it. Smoke was rising from the top and people were hurrying out of it.

“ _Previous reports were sketchy, but we can now confirm that Team Rocket has gotten a foothold in the Tower!_ ” A reporter nearly yelled. “ _It’s unknown just what is happening in the tower at this time. People are fleeing the scene. I—What? What was that?_ ”

The reporter’s eyes shifted around. Then his eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. He turned back to the screen.

“ _I’ve just gotten word that a boy and a Charizard were seen going into the tower!_ ”

“I didn’t know there was an operation at Pokemon Tower.” Maxie and Archie exchanged looks. “Archie?”

“Don’t look at me, I wasn’t aware of this either.” He said, looking baffled. “What would we even want to do there? It’s just a cemetery. Kinda pisses me off that we don’t have enough common sense to respect the dead.”

Maxie looked at the TV, eyes following the smoke.

“Well, clearly there’s something there that warrants the use of explosives.” He said. “Even though most of Giovanni’s favorite goons love them, they’re wary to use them in places that draw this much attention.”

“We were snooping around there maybe like…six months ago now.” Archie scratched his head. “There wasn’t much to see. Some graves, creepy ladies with sticks, some wild Ghost Pokemon that wouldn’t stop harassing us. That Silph Scope we swiped sure did help with identifying the ghosts that weren’t Pokemon.”

“Is that what it does?”

“Yeah. Real handy piece of technology. I wonder where it went…”

Maxie watched as the reporter continued to talk on and on and on. He interviewed some of the channelers, the civilians who had been visiting the deceased Pokemon, and he noted a missing elderly man that was not accounted for. One person stated that they saw him going for the top of the tower.

“He said…there was a kid with a Charizard right?” Maxie said.

“I think so.”

“The person who raided the base also had a Charizard. That’s what the official report said.” Maxie said. “And Charizard aren’t that common. Do you think it might be the same person?”

“Dunno. Maybe? I experienced his Jolteon first hand but I didn’t see anything else.”

Maxie squinted at the screen. It was strange to think that a child could have both discovered and raided the rocket base before heading off to Lavender Town to thwart their operations there. What kind of motivation would a child have to take on a team of adults? And what kind of courage would they have to possess in order to do so?

“Gotta hand it to whoever’s taking us on,” Archie said with a chuckle, “they’ve got guts. Too bad Giovanni’s writing my paycheck or maybe I’d join in on the fun!”

“Don’t let Archer catch you saying that.”

The breaking news came and went, and the television switched over to its next special; some new discovery by a Pokemon Professor in Sinnoh that Maxie was only vaguely familiar with. Archie settled back down on the couch and messed with the bandage on his face. Maxie smacked him on the hand.

“Hey, d’ya think now they’ll be smart enough to realize those stupid-ass spin tiles on the second and third floors don’t work at keeping out intruders?” Archie asked. “I mean that Charizard kid just flew right over them.”

“Considering Silph Co. uses the same technology in their warp panels? I highly doubt it.”

They piled back onto the couch, Mightyena included, and settled on just lazily watching the television. The professor, apparently a man named Rowan, talked on and on about the huge mountain range separating the two halves of the region. He discussed the differences in regional Pokemon, and eventually brought up Shellos. Laying on Archie’s chest and listening to rhythmic heartbeats, Maxie felt himself falling asleep.

That is, until something else on the television caught his attention.

“ _…And here we have an example of the western Shellos versus the eastern Shellos. As you can see, there is a stark contrast between…_ ”

An older woman with red hair was holding a pink Shellos while her partner beside her was holding the blue variant. She was talking and smiling as she discussed her theories on the Pokemon. Maxie sat up, mesmerized. Archie looked at him curiously.

“What? What is it?”

“… _At one point in time, it was thought that these two were completely different Pokemon. They don’t really look too much alike, do they?_ ” The woman laughed. It sent a chill down Maxie’s spine. “ _But the sheer size of Mt. Coronet kept them apart for so long that_ —”

The television went dark. Maxie set the remote aside. Archie furrowed his eyebrows.

“Hey, what gives? I was just getting into that.” Maxie didn’t reply. He got up from the couch and walked off in the direction of the bedroom. “…Maxie? Hey, Maxie, what’s up?”

“I’m going to bed.” He said. “Don’t forget to change out the bandages in a few hours.”

“Bed?” Archie sat up straight. “Why? It’s only three o’clock!”

The bedroom door was shut and locked. Archie protested, but Maxie ignored him. He wasn’t in the mood.

* * *

 

_As with every Thursday evening, Maxie found himself on the couch in the living room. The little television they owned was perched on top of a larger bookshelf. It was old, the picture was full of snow, and the audio often cut out, but it was Maxie’s only ticket to the world outside of Orre._

_“…In an interesting turn of events, a stone similar to the famed Magma Stone of Stark Mountain has been described in the lore of Lentimas town. It is theorized that a similar Pokemon might be present deep within the…”_

_Maxie grabbed a messy handful of popcorn from the bowl in his lap and shoved it into his mouth. It was rare that they had nature specials specifically referring to volcanic areas, so he always made sure to save himself some time to watch them._

_It was a shame that Ein wasn’t as interested in volcanic activity and geology like he was. His friend had a much more impressive, brand new television in their living room which had much better sound for watching the kinds of specials he loved. It was annoying when his lesser television sound cut out over key concepts._

_“…Heatran, though only seen by few, is generally named the protector of Stark Mountain.” An older professor with an impressive beard said gruffly. “I’m no expert on this topic, by any means. My speciality is Pokemon evolution. That being said, it’s thought that Heatran is one of those many Pokemon that does not evolve which begs the question of…”_

_Numel nudged him and he held out a few morsels of popcorn to it, which it happily accepted. The professor talked on and on about Pokemon energy and his own theories, skipping around to compare Heatran to Pokemon like Entei, Moltres, and Volcanion—all Pokemon, he knew, to have been spotted living near volcanoes or that had a connection to volcanic activity._

_“…But let’s switch over to our special guest, shall we?” The professor gestured to a woman beside him. “This is professor…bzzzttt…who came all the way out here from….fzzzzzzzt…”_

_Maxie set aside the popcorn bowl, which Numel took the opportunity to dig into, and hurried to the TV. He gave it a resounding thwack on the top and side._

_“Stupid TV.” He grumbled, messing around with the antenna on top. “Always cuts out just when I’m listening…”_

_“…Thank you for that, Professor Rowan!”_

_A familiar female voice came through the speakers. Maxie stepped back and stared at the screen. Sitting beside the older man with the beard was a lady with red hair and glasses. She was laughing and smiling as she discussed some of her research on Heatran’s whereabouts and supposed habitat based on theories and known facts._

_“…Mom?” Maxie said incredulously._

_“Do I believe Heatran might be there? I don’t know. Stark Mountain’s been overrun with tourists and trainers within the past five years.” She said to Rowan. “The footpaths are heavily traveled now as opposed to before. It’s scared away a few of the more skittish Pokemon from the area and due to this, research has become…”_

_Maxie watched her every move, unblinking, hoping to himself that she’d meet his eyes despite knowing full well she didn’t even know he was there watching her._

_“How long have you been researching the Pokemon around the area of Stark Mountain, professor?”_

_“Oh, I don’t know, maybe around eight years now?” She shrugged. “Could be longer. The years just blend together now!”_

_The audience laughed. Maxie didn’t._

_“Certainly you are a devoted one. An admirable quality!” Professor Rowan said. “What does your family think about you spending all this time near an active volcano?”_

_“Family? Oh, no,” she said with a shake of her head, “it’s just me. I’m married to my work…”_

_The television’s picture faded away with soft snowfall that turned into white and grey nothingness. This time Maxie didn’t fix it. He stood there in silence and stared at the television, wondering if he’d heard correctly, wondering if there was some mistake in what she had said._

_Deep down he knew there wasn’t._

* * *

 

“Do you have what I asked for?”

It was late at night and here they were on the heavily wooded route between Celadon and Saffron City.

Proton prefered to meet under the cover of darkness, not interested in being seen. Maxie didn’t have any complaints about the arrangements either, preferring that Archie didn’t see him sneaking around without his knowledge either.

“Yep.” Proton lifted a particularly heavy looking folder. “Every single scrap of evidence we got. It was pretty damn difficult sneaking back into that fucking base, let me tell you. The place’s swarming with cops now.” He handed it over to Maxie, who held it carefully. “It’d better be worth it.”

“This is everything we know about Mew. Every sighting, every fossil, every piece of evidence ever found.” Maxie said. “If you want to find it, this is my best hope at trying.”

“I don’t want you to _try_ , I want you to  _do_.” Proton said, jabbing Maxie in the chest with a finger. “Trying won’t put a Mew in my hands and money in the pockets of Giovanni.”

“You do realize what we’re doing here, right?” Maxie said. “We’re not hunting for Rattata and Oddish, we’re looking for something that has only been spotted a handful of times over centuries of hunting, expeditions, and searches.”

“You sure didn’t have trouble finding it the first time.” Proton said with a growl. “Shouldn’t be too difficult for you. Come get me when you find something.”

Maxie looked from the notes back up at Proton, who was walking away from him. “Where?”

“If you know where to look, you’ll find me.” Proton smirked and gave him a salute. “Don’t keep me waiting, Red.”

 

* * *

 

Though he wanted nothing more than to stay with Archie, Maxie was called in to the Silph Co. mission by a fellow scientist in the early hours of the morning. Archie wasn’t even awake. Maxie wrote him a short note to stay in bed and left without a word.

Silph Co. loomed ominously in the dark, with blinds pulled shut and all of its lights turned off save for a select few at the entrances. Two grunts stood watch in front of the doors and stepped aside as Maxie approached. Silph Co. was one of the major technology corporations in the world. Plenty of things were in development there that would attract any evil syndicate.

But as to how Giovanni managed to bypass their security and not raise alarm as with the Lavender Town scandal he was clueless.

The other scientist—whose name was ‘Taylor’ according to his nametag—removed the hastily written OUT OF ORDER sign from the elevator and led him inside. He pressed the button for the fifth floor.

“Our job today is to break into the database and find the data for the Master Ball.” Taylor said to him. “Having worked in this miserable place before, I can tell you that there are plenty of other interesting things we’ll find on the way. But the Master Ball is the most important.”

Maxie only nodded. He was familiar with the concept. A Pokeball that could capture any Pokemon without fail. It was a breakthrough in capture technology and brought in heaps of cash to Silph Co. But for whatever reason, the president refused to release them en masse to the public. Very few of the ball were sold and distributed to only those who had the funds for it.

He wondered if Giovanni planned to catch Mew in one.

The elevator stopped, dinged, and the doors opened. They walked out and toward a large room filled with many large desks and large, bulky computers. A few scientists were already hard at work, typing away at them and sweating profusely. They looked as if they’d been there for hours already without a single break.

Maxie felt himself start to sweat. He didn’t know much if anything about hacking a computer.

“Is there…perhaps a physical aspect to this? Some papers I might be able to sift through instead?” He asked Taylor, who furrowed his eyebrows. “I’m a geologist. I don’t hack computers.”

“There’s a locked room down the hall. Full of junk.” Taylor said. “You can take a crack at that, if you want. Try one of the lazy idiots guarding the door at the south end for a Card Key. I’m heading up to the sixth floor to see if one of the guys up there have found anything.”

The lazy idiot at the south end of the room did, in fact, have a Card Key on his person. He was reluctant to give it, but one word about Giovanni’s opinion on the matter made him shove it into Maxie’s hands without a complaint.

After making his way through the Silph maze, he found a room covered in a strange set of metal doors toward the west end of the floor. It was labeled ‘STORAGE 224A’ which was probably the junk room Taylor was referring to. One swipe of the card made the door reel back into the wall. Inside it was pitch black. He flipped a light switch.

“Full of junk” wasn’t an exaggeration.

“By Arceus, how does anyone find anything in here?” Maxie said to himself as he eyed the towering stacks of filing boxes.

The room stank like aged newspapers and old books. Various stacks were labeled with numbers, codes, people’s names, but some had torn labels and their exact contents were lost to everyone. Papers and folders were even scattered on the floor in heaps. He carefully stepped over boxes, around boxes, and through narrow gaps where they were stacked far too close to each other. Where was he supposed to start in all of this?

“Master Ball…Master Ball…”

He checked and double checked labels on boxes. There were files on Potions, Antidotes, Full Heals, Ethers, and a wide variety of items usually given to Pokemon to hold. But not a single box on Master Balls. Wouldn’t it be just his luck if they’d decided to go digital with that project?

So he settled down on a particularly sturdy box and decided to start reading something to pass the time. He opened a box of files from Devon, Silph’s rival company in Hoenn, and pulled out the file labeled ‘DEVON VARIANT FOSSIL RESTORATION MACHINE’.

“Developed by a premier laboratory assistant in Cinnabar Island tech, the fossil restoration technology has become highly sought after around the world,” Maxie read aloud to himself, “including a variety of museums not limited to Pewter City Museum, Nacrene Museum in Unova, the Oreburgh Mining Museum in Sinnoh…”

He yawned.

“…the Devon Corporation is seeing to its purchase and the assimilation of the creator into their general staff…it is predicted that there will be some sort of licensing trouble with its acquisition…”

No, no. This was too boring for this early in the morning. Even for him. He closed the file and set it next to him. He’d read it another day along with that Groudon file he’d picked up in the Celadon base.

Maxie blinked. He’d forgotten about that file until that very moment. After going back to his apartment, he tucked it away with about a dozen other things he was supposed to read but promptly forgot about its existence in favor of caring for Archie. Who was probably needlessly worrying or getting up to something he shouldn’t be doing.

Maxie sighed and rubbed at his temple.

“I shouldn’t be here. I should be at home, shouldn’t I?” He muttered. “Why bother bringing in a geologist to do a computer scientist’s work?”

The files didn’t have an answer for him. Neither did the little boy standing to his right.

Maxie jumped up and knocked over three boxes, their contents spilling over onto the floor in a disheveled mess.

The kid made no move, simply choosing to stare at him. Maxie eyed him carefully. Red clothes, red hat, yellow bag. The same child they’d described in the Rocket reports. He was no older than ten, this kid, but he had a face full of fire as he eyed Maxie. There was a Pokeball in his right hand with a tiny fire sticker on it.

That was Charizard, if he had to venture a guess.

Maxie was in no shape for battle. Despite Numel’s double resistance to Fire type attacks and Golbat’s high level, neither would be able to stand up for too long against the sheer might of a Charizard. And that wasn’t even taking into account the Jolteon or anything else he might have. He held up his hands and backed off.

“I…I don’t have any Pokemon.” Maxie said. “I don’t want to battle.”

“Are you a member of Team Rocket?”

“Huh?”

“All you Rocket grunts and scientists steal and keep Pokemon.” He said. “I’ll bet you’re no different.”

“Well I’m the gruntiest of the grunts and have absolutely nothing.” Maxie said. “I promise, there’s not even the satisfaction of beating my Pokemon into the floor. If you want someone to beat up try the people in the room with the computers.”

The boy narrowed his eyes at Maxie but, after a moment, he clipped his Pokeball back onto his belt and turned away. Maxie slowly lowered his arms.

“…You’re weak.” He said. “Anything you can do to save your own hide, you’ll do it. Even throwing each other in the line of fire. That’s why I hate Rockets.”

He left without another word. Maxie heard the door slide shut and lock behind him.

“…Hey!”

He ran around the mountains of boxes and looked at the door. Withdrawing the Card Key from his pocket, he searched for a spot to swipe it. Nothing. The Card Key didn’t work both ways in this room. He kicked the door violently.

“What incompetent imbecile designed this place?” He yelled at the door.

Nobody seemed to hear him. There was a commotion outside the door, probably a Pokemon battle. His shoulders slumped. It wouldn’t take long for everyone to forget that he was even there. He backed up and plopped down onto a box. He heard someone run by. They didn’t even stop at the door.

He pulled off his glasses and rested his head in his hands. The Master Ball operation would take precedence to the safety of the grunts. It would be a while before someone remembered sending that one random geologist from Orre into the junk room to look for hard copies of information.

Archie would realize that he was gone. And he would come looking for him. But he didn’t have the Card Key, did he? He sighed.

“The hell am I supposed to do about this?” He muttered. “Numel can’t burn through that, Golbat wouldn’t be able to—”

The power cut.

“…Fantastic. Now I can’t see a damn thing.”

But the darkness of the room did illuminate something he hadn’t seen before. A faint light was glowing from behind the city of boxes. After a moment of feeling the area around him and fumbling in the dark, he came across it.

A warp panel. That was his ticket out.

However, fifteen warp panels, twelve floors, and at least three hours later, Maxie decided that this was not the case.


	7. Act II Part IV

The front door slammed shut. An exhausted, sweaty, and far too dizzy Maxie trudged in slowly. His hair was fluffed up from a surprise Wing Attack that he got in the way of. Archie poked his head out of the kitchen. Maxie tried to look more positive, but didn’t put too much effort into it.

“Oh! Hey Maxie!” Archie said. Maxie kicked off his shoes and hung his lab coat on the wall. “You’re home early, what happened? Ya look like you ran out of repel in a cave full of Zubat.”

Maxie stared at him. Archie stared back. Then Maxie opened his arms wide.

“Happy to oblige!” Archie said, capturing the other in a massive Ursaring hug that offset Maxie’s glasses. He stroked Maxie’s hair. “Must’ve been a pretty crappy day if you’re openly asking for hugs.”

“Mm. You don’t even know the half of it.”

 

                                                           

 

“Mind explainin' what happened?”

Maxie looked up at him, but he didn’t start talking right away. It wasn’t until they broke apart and Archie served him something to eat that he finally spilled everything; starting from the early morning wake up to the incident with the boy in the red hat, then to the swarms of grunts that were yelling and tromping around with Pokeballs at the ready, and last, but certainly not least, the warp panels.

“Sounds like you’ve had one helluva day.” Archie said finally. “Did anyone actually find the Master Ball stuff?”

“I have no idea.” Maxie said. “We had our best hackers in there trying to find the files but last I knew? We hadn’t found anything. It’s likely that the file only exists on the president’s computer for safe keeping.”

“Could be. And what about the ball itself? Surely there’s gotta be one laying around.”

Maxie sighed. “I certainly hope not. Could you imagine what Team Rocket might be able to accomplish with a Pokeball that can capture _anything_?”

“It’s sure be easier to get Mew, that’s for sure.” Archie said. “...Or Kyogre. Damn, do you know how cool that would be? To have your own personal Kyogre to Surf around on?” Maxie rolled his eyes. “I’m being serious!”

“Kyogre is a myth, Archie.” He said. “Nobody’s seen it within the last thousand years. For all we know, there never even was a Kyogre.”

“‘Scuse me?” Archie’s eyebrows rose. “There’s plenty of evidence of Kyogre! You’re just lookin’ at rock art so you were too busy to notice! The Weather Institute in Hoenn says that about three thousand years ago there was these freak weather patterns, right? And...”

Conversation about Maxie’s day dropped off, quickly being replaced by a long talk about whether or not Kyogre really did exist which Archie was more than willing to fight for. Maxie was happy for the change, wanting to do everything he could to forget about the day’s events until later.

He placed a hand over his pocket where a special Pokeball laid hidden.

Maybe he’d tell Archie that part of the story later, too.

 

* * *

 

 

The heavy Mew folder hit the table with a resounding smack.

“I’ve spent the past week looking through this stuff.” Maxie said with a scowl. “I’ve gone through seven sleepless nights reading, rereading, and trying to find anything of use. There are countless sightings in countless areas, but they don’t add up. There’s no pattern. I’m missing something, clearly. Where is the rest of the information?”

This time the two found themselves in Saffron in a quiet but decrepit old bar downtown. The sight of Proton had scared most everyone off, but the people who lingered were doing their best not to look at them. Maxie was thankful for this.

Proton gave him a bored look. “Eh. You can’t do nothing, can you?” He said with a snort. “You talk big but in reality without me? You’re nothing.” Maxie scowled at him, but his face changed to one of surprise when Proton held out a thick, loosely stapled document from underneath the table. He took it and quickly began to skim it. “You’re lucky I really fucking want that Mew.”

“...There was an _original_ Mew expedition?”

Maxie’s eyes were wide as he scanned the pages in front of him. Was he reading correctly? The article he found was almost ten years old now but listed the names of some lesser known scientists who went on an expedition to locate the creature. There was also a clipping of Giovanni shaking one of the older scientist’s hands. He looked up at Proton.

“I’ve...I’ve never heard of this place before. Or these names, faces…” He said. “Where did you even find this?”

“I have my sources. You’re not the only guy I’ve got on the job.” Proton said slyly. “Not many of us were aware of this particular project. Giovanni himself didn’t even know of it until Madame Boss left him to pick up the pieces from where she left off. Apparently someone dug this article out of the rubble over at the closed lab on Cinnabar.”

Though he was only familiar with the current major laboratory on Cinnabar, Cinnabar Island Tech, Maxie felt like he had heard about this incident somewhere. Possibly. It did ring a bell in his mind. But if there had been a laboratory there run by Team Rocket, then why was there a second? And why had he never been sent there before?

“They said the scientists had a map to where this place is at,” Proton continued, “but none of them admitted to it later on. Nobody’s sure where it is anymore and the guys they hired clammed up about it after the lab exploded.”

“...Exploded?” Maxie stared at him. “Why?”

“Details, details!” Proton said, waving a hand. “Look. If there’s a map to this place somewhere, then you gotta find it. Nobody’s fucking stupid enough to destroy it, not when there’s something as rare as Mew living there, so it has to be somewhere.”

Maxie looked at the article, and then at Proton. He furrowed his eyebrows. He had to be kidding. There were surely other ways of finding a route to the island.

“Your faith in me is incredible.” Maxie deadpanned. “This map could have been exchanged dozens if not hundreds of times now. I’ve got better chances of walking in the woods and finding an alternately colored Pidgeot! I’m a geologist, not a miracle worker! Do you expect it to come out of thin air?”

A pocket knife was in his face. Maxie visibly flinched.

“I told you before that it pisses me off when people test my patience.” Proton said, eyes narrowing dangerously. “Scientists. All the same. Think the sun shines out your damn ass and liquid gold runs through your veins. You should feel damn lucky that one of us executives actually _needs_ your sorry fucking hide. I could replace you so easily it would blow your fucking mind.”

He pressed the side of the blade up against Maxie’s neck.

“Then again...you’re not the only one who saw Mew that night. Your fuck buddy was there too, wasn’t he?” Maxie’s throat went dry. “I could chop you up any make him do all the hard work instead. Archie’s a better Rocket than you. Takes orders and does them, no questions asked. No questions. Nobody’d miss you. And I’d never have to hear you squawking at me ever again. Everyone wins.”

Neither of them moved. Maxie felt his heart throbbing in his ears.

“Are we clear?”

“Y...Yes.”

“What was that?” Proton cupped an ear. “I couldn’t fucking hear you.”

“Yes, sir!” Maxie said, entirely too loud. Proton smirked, satisfied, and withdrew the knife.

“So, the map. Think you can have it within a few weeks?”

Maxie stared at him, horrified. “A few _weeks_?” He repeated. Rockets had spent their entire lives searching for Mew and its natural habitat. How in the world was he going to be able to find anything that fast? “I...I don’t--” When Proton’s menacing look returned, Maxie’s shoulders slumped and he sighed.

“Yes.”

“Perfect!” Proton said. “I’m so glad things worked out this way. I’m sure your little fuck buddy is too.”

Maxie listened to the other man talk and laugh and go onto a tangent about Team Rocket’s other investments and interests. He nodded occasionally and tried to listen, but couldn’t tear his thoughts away from Archie. He was doing this for Archie. If he told Archie about it, without a doubt he’d go after Proton.

Archie couldn’t know.

 

* * *

 

 

What was once secretive, sparse research became nearly nonstop research.

Papers were scattered and sorted by importance to the Mew project and took up nearly the entire area around his desk. Hiding it from Archie was becoming increasingly difficult, and explaining just why it was that he’d rather stay in his apartment, away from him, was even harder. It didn’t help that he’d given Archie a house key either.

Proton didn’t call all too often, but the very thought that he might, or that he could be lurking around the corner, kept Maxie working. It was ironic, he thought, that he’d made such an effort to keep Mew away from him and others that it had nearly cost him his life. Now here he was working himself to death.

“Maxie?”

The redhead jolted and scrambled to cover his notes with a cream colored folder. “Wh-What is it?” He said a bit too sharply. Archie blinked at him.

“I...uh, I was just askin’ if there was anything you wanted at the store.” He said. “Anything that’s not already written on my arm, that is.”

He lifted the blue cast and revealed the small list that Maxie had written on it one night and also several other lists that he’d put there. It had started as a joke, really, using Archie as a human drawing board. But it was an effective system. Maxie was going to miss the usefulness of that cast.

“No. I’m fine.” Maxie said, shaking his head. “Don’t forget the milk.”

He turned back around in his chair. Archie didn’t leave.

“You haven’t come out of your room all day.”

“I’m busy.”

“The hell ya are.” Archie said. He couldn’t see him, but he knew he wasn’t happy. “You know the rules, right Maxie? Yer supposed to enjoy life, not live to work. You’ve got more important things you could be doing. Like spending time with me.” Maxie was sure that he smiled. He could hear it in his voice.

At that moment, Maxie wanted so badly to spill his guts out to Archie. Or to throw the research in the trash and run off to do something stupidly domestic like any other normal person his age. But instead he held fast to his position and bowed his head forward a bit. This was for the best.

“We can do something together later, okay?”

“Y’said that yesterday.”

Oh. He did remember saying something to that effect yesterday. Maxie squared his shoulders and turned back around.

“Yes, and I’m sorry for that, but,” Maxie said, “this is of the utmost importance. I’d love to spend time with you Archie. You know that. But if I don’t finish this I’ll be in trouble.” Archie opened his mouth to say something. “--And no. You can’t help me with it this time. I have to do it alone.”

Looking defeated, Archie reached for the door knob. “...’Kay.” He said. “Y’know where to find me.”

When the door shut the room went back to silence. The Mew reports stared up at him, sneering. Maxie looked at each article with a frown. How good it would feel to shove everything off the desk. How amazing it would be to tell Proton to shove this research up his ass.

No, he was too weak to do that. There was too much of a risk involved with that. He bumped his head against the desk. He was trapped.

Never until that moment had he felt so much like his father.

 

* * *

 

 

“The fuck do you mean we’re out of a job?”

Maxie woke with a start. It was still dark out. Artificial light flickered in from the hallway. Archie wasn’t in his usual place snuggled up alongside him. He sat up in bed and looked around, scowling when he saw that Mightyena had crawled into bed with them.

How many times had he told Archie off for that?

“That’s what I said.” Said someone whose voice Maxie didn’t recognize. “Orders came from Giovanni himself. We’re packing up and letting everyone go.”

“Just like that? No severance check? Nothing?” Silence. Archie growled. “I worked for Team Rocket for three years and that’s all he’s gotta say?”

Maxie got up and out of bed, grabbing his glasses and stretching a bit before he walked to the doorway. He caught a glimpse of Archie, hastily dressed in some pants and a t-shirt, with a Rocket grunt. Or ex-Rocket grunt, he should say. The man had his uniform shirt and hat draped over one arm. Maxie frowned.

Three major raids hadn’t stopped Team Rocket’s plans. They’d continued working for weeks afterward with no sign of problems. What changed Giovanni’s mind?

“Hey, I’m angry too. But Giovanni’s gone missing already. Nobody even knows where he went.” The other guy said. “We already tried to give him a piece of our mind but the guy’s slippery as a Barboach.” Shuffling. “Some of the guys were thinking about heading to Johto. A buddy o’ mine says there’s some work at the Ruins of Alph dig site. And another guy’s lookin’ into the Slowpoketail business.”

“Thanks for thinkin’ of me, but I really don’t know.” Archie said. “I’ve never been that fond of ditch diggin’ or lobbing off the tails of cute little Pokemon.”

The continued talking for a moment longer before Archie waved him off. He closed and locked the door. Then, he sighed and turned back around to face Maxie. Caught off guard, Archie flinched.

“So, I heard we’ve been fired.” Maxie said.

“Yeah. Though I wouldn’t really call it ‘fired’. It’s more like...permanently laid off. Whatever that’s s’posed to mean.” Archie said with a snort. “Apparently something went down with Giovanni and...well, that’s that. Team Rocket’s dead. Funny, huh? Sorry I woke you up.”

“I would’ve gotten up regardless.” Maxie said, walking past Archie toward the kitchen. “That Mightyena of yours snores something fierce.”

“Uh...heh.” Archie chuckled nervously at being caught yet again. “It’s hard to resist those lil’ Lilipup eyes he gives me. Don’t have the heart to shove him back in his Pokeball for that long.”

“Mmhm.”

They had breakfast in silence, neither sure what to say to each other. Now that they didn’t have jobs, they’d certainly have trouble paying for the apartments. They could move in together as they’d planned to, perhaps. Though with nothing tying him to Celadon, Maxie wondered if he should explore some new opportunity.

“Hey, Maxie?” Archie said finally. Maxie turned toward him, coffee in hand. “What’dya plan on doing? Now that Team Rocket’s gone, I mean.”

Maxie sighed. “...I don’t know.” He said. “I suppose I could always try Silph Co. again, but the damage on their building from the raid was extensive. It’s probably connected mostly by warp panel travel now. Also, I doubt they’d be interested in hiring me, especially considering that I left them for Team Rocket.”

He took a sip from the coffee. Archie offered him a half smile.

“Well...you could always stay here with me.” He said.

“That’s kind of you, Archie, but you’re out of work too.” Maxie said. “It’d also get dreadfully boring if I wasn’t doing at least _something_ with my spare time.” He looked down at his mug with a frown. The coffee had gone cold. “I suppose Pewter City Museum is the closest place I could try for something within my own field…”

“Pewter City?” Archie looked horrified. “That’s so far away from here! Through the mountain it’s nearly a two day trip and the other way around is nearly twice as long! How would I visit you?”

“Our visiting times would be shortened significantly, yes, but it’s better than none at all.” Maxie said. “I could always choose to go home, after all.”

Archie looked thoughtful. Then he brightened up.

“That’s it!”

“What?”

“Home!” He rushed to Maxie’s side and grabbed his wrists. The coffee splashed around and landed on Maxie’s shirt. But before Maxie could complain about it, Archie continued talking. “Dad and ma, they have a place there on the beach but nobody’s even living there anymore. Not since we all moved out,” he said, “and, see, Slateport’s a huge place full of sailors and boats and fishermen! I could get a job in a snap!”

“Archie--”

Archie left him no room to talk. “And there’s a little island to the west called Dewford Island, and there’s this amazing cave there full of ancient art. It’s just like the one in Cerulean! You could go do your rock stuff there!”

Maxie made a face at him. Here was Archie, so determined to keep them together that he’d offer Maxie his childhood home. Pewter City probably had far more options for him than Dewford, being home to a well known museum and all. Or he could even consider Oreburgh Museum, with the mining operation so close by. They’d probably be in need of more specialists.

But it was very, very difficult to look Archie in the face and say that, no, he didn’t want to go to Slateport. Especially when he, too, wasn’t so keen on being separated.

“Alright, look. I’ll think about it, okay?” This answer seemed to satisfy Archie for now, as he released Maxie from his grip. “Arceus knows I’ll have plenty of time now that I have nothing to do.”

“Yeah.” Archie said, nodding. “Yeah, okay, do that.”

Soon afterward Maxie retreated back to his own apartment, where he was greeted by a sleepy Numel. The thoughts of the day heavy on his mind, he simply scratched Numel behind the ears and went off to his bedroom.

He flipped the light on, illuminating the old desk in the corner of the room and the white and yellow mountain of work he’d piled on top of it. With a sigh, he approached it to pick through the items. A file on fossil restoration, another on Cerulean Cave, dampened and torn from him carrying it around, one of dozens of files from Proton on Mew. But at the very bottom was that file from the Rocket base on Groudon. He picked it up and stared at it.

Going with Archie would give him enough time to study it in detail and learn about the Pokemon. Going with Archie would bring him into Hoenn, where Groudon was said to reside.

He cast a glance at the file on Mew, full of highlighted and marked up papers on what solid evidence the Rockets could find. With Giovanni out of the picture, would Proton still come after him? Would he still hold Archie’s life over his head and force him to find the mysterious island?

If he went with Archie, he could get away from that chapter of his life. He could get far, far away from the clutches of Team Rocket. He could start on a clean slate somewhere else.

Maybe that was what finally convinced him to pack up all of his things and get on that boat with Archie only a week later.


	8. Act III Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you for 2K hits! It means a lot to know there are so many people reading and enjoying this story! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, I opened up requests on my blog (which you're free to join in with by the way!) and had plenty of school work to do.
> 
> Second of all, I've added a little something into Act I Part III that you should totally look at!

“Ugh…”

Maxie found himself slumped over the side of the boat. Certainly the ride had been smoother than most but the ocean waves begged to differ, surging up and smacking the boat around like a toy in a bathtub and upsetting Maxie’s stomach.

It was a long, long way from Kanto to Hoenn and he regretted the decision to save money and take the boat instead of flying. He rarely got motion sickness and didn’t anticipate being seasick for the entire ride. Archie, who had been running around with his Mightyena, was rubbing his back now.

“Didn’t expect the sea t’ get to you this badly.” Archie said. “Was it like this when you went to Kanto for the first time?”

“I got to Kanto by plane.” Maxie let out a long groan as the boat rocked and his stomach did another somersault. “I hate the sea and it hates me back.”

The boat lurched. Maxie felt his lunch coming back up and bent further over the rail. Archie continued massaging his back. “Nah, the sea just likes playin’ with ya.” He said. “Ya don’t have sea legs, so it wants to mess around and make ya mad.”

“If that was its goal, it achieved that hours ago.”

“If it makes ya feel any better,” Archie said, “we should be able to see Hoenn soon enough. Means we’ll be home free in just a little while!”

Mightyena poked its head through one of the bars of the railing surrounding the boat. It sniffed at the spray, wagged its tail happily, and yelped in surprise when it splashed up into its nose. Maxie watched it lazily, silently agreeing with it. The only thing worse than water was salt water. Part of him wished that he had Numel to be miserable with, but he’d rather not give the poor Fire-type a heart attack.

“Y’know, Maxie.” Archie said. “Numel are native to the Hoenn region. In fact they’re super easy to spot around Mt. Chimney. I know you got yours in Lentimas Town, but they’re way more common here. We ought to go up and see some of the wild ones sometime.”

“Mhm.” Maxie said, not really listening to what Archie was saying.

“Makes me wonder how they got all the way to Unova when it’s separated by an entire ocean. Numel sure as hell couldn’t swim their way there!” Archie perched over the rail of the boat and looked out at the sea dreamily. “I once read this neat book about theories on why Pokemon were where they are in all these completely different regions. I don’t remember it mentioning Numel though. What do you think, Maxie?”

“Ghhh…”

It wasn’t until a stretch of green appeared over the horizon ten minutes later, after Archie’s continued discussion on Pokemon habitats, that Maxie perked up. Land, finally there was land. He looked up wearily. He couldn’t wait to be standing on solid ground again. The sea could go fuck itself.

“There she blows!” Archie said with a laugh. “Good ol’ Hoenn. Feels great to be home.”

“Oh, how wonderful…ugh.” Maxie held his head. “I’ve got an awful headache. The sooner we get off of this Arceus-damned boat the better.”

“I can’t wait to show ya the old place, Max.” Archie said. “There’s a perfect view of the beach, this little patch of trees, the neighborhood’s great…It’s got a lot of good memories! Oh, and the yard’s big enough for Mightyena to run around, and Numel might enjoy the…”

Archie continued to ramble. Maxie nodded vaguely to pretend like he was listening. As nice as those things were, the only thing Maxie cared about was whether or not it had a vaguely flat surface that wasn’t swarming with Beedrill where he could lay for the next few hours.

And something to calm his stomach.

 

* * *

 

“More stickers!”

While Maxie was checking in his Pokemon to the local Pokemon Center in Slateport, a couple of boys were sitting at the table in the lobby. One of them, a boy with almost turquoise hair in two sizes too big white clothes, was sitting on the table. The other, a shorter blue haired boy whose dark clothes were coated with dirt and grass stains, was sticking the entirety of a roll of Water Pokemon stickers all over his friend’s face.

“Wallace,” his friend said, “we’re gonna run out of stickers. And I don’t have any more money.”

“I’ve got money! We can get more!” Wallace held up a little Luvdisc shaped wallet. “Because I’m good at Pokemon battles.”

“So am I!”

Wallace stuck his tongue out. “No! All  _you_  want to do is send out Aron against everything.” He said. “And Aron’s a Rock-type. Even my Feebas is super effective against that!”

“Rocks are cool, though!”

“You’re just a weirdo, Steven.”

Maxie shook his head at them. The kids setting out on adventures were getting younger and younger every year. He watched as the two shoved each other a bit before running out the doors laughing, the emptied sticker paper forgotten on the floor. Archie popped up beside him and followed his gaze.

“…D’aww, check them out.” He said with a chuckle. “Takes guts to be that young and step out into the world. I didn’t leave the house on my own Pokemon adventure until I was way older!”

“But being that young with Pokemon… “ Maxie said. “It’s a bit dangerous, isn’t it? Pokemon have a lot of power contained within them.”

“I think they can handle it. We don’t give kids enough credit. Remember, Max, it was a kid who raided the Celadon base, Silph Co.,  _and_ destroyed Team Rocket.” He had that stupid grin on his face, that same one as after the trainer child had beaten up his Golbat and left a permanent scar across his nose. “Takes a hell of a lot of guts to take on a bunch of adults like that.”

The attendant at the counter reappeared and set the tray of Pokeballs on the counter. “Here you are.” She said with a polite smile. “Both of your Pokemon are fighting fit!” Maxie nodded to her before stowing Numel’s and Golbat’s Pokeballs on his belt. A moment later, Archie did the same. “Come again anytime!”

They exited the Pokemon center and entered into the bright sunny weather of Slateport City.

In their arms were the few boxes of important things and bags of overnight things they’d opted to simply take with them.The moving van was lagging behind them about a day or so, having been on a separate barge entirely. Nothing of dire importance was in there, thankfully, and Maxie was complacent with waiting for it.

In the meantime, they walked. The area they were headed to wasn’t accessible by train, and Slateport didn’t have too good of a bus system according to Archie. But, apparently, the house they would be staying in wasn’t too far away from the Pokemon Center. Walking was fine.

Slateport City wasn’t entirely different from Celadon. It had its large buildings and impressive open air market, its fair share of a population, and more people from all reaches of the world than Maxie could count. However, it was still smaller than the biggest city in Hoenn, Mauville, which was comparable to Saffron in size and splendor.

“It’s a good couple hours by bike, and a lot longer if you walk.” Archie told him. “The walking path hasn’t been cleared in ages so the place is swarmin’ with Pokemon. It’s a great place to train though.”

“I have no interest in being a trainer.”

“You’ve got a license. What’s the point if ya don’t train?”

Not surprisingly, the neighborhood where Archie lived was only a short distance away from the sea. Small townhouses were lined up side-by-side in neat rows and Maxie could see the sea peaking out through a small section of trees. He could almost see a younger Archie running through them to get to the water.

Archie’s house was about as much as Maxie had imagined it to be. It was the same as any other house that had been lived in by one too many children. The windows were aged, the shutters falling off, and there was a shed that just barely stayed closed. The front door’s WELCOME sign was missing the “L”, and the moment Archie saw it he couldn’t resist telling the family joke involving a Poochyena, a car chase, and a fishing pole.

Maxie was a bit too distracted to listen. He held the small box of his personal items close. The house should have been welcoming and friendly, like Archie, but he really just felt like he was intruding on something. Was Archie really okay with letting him live here, in his cherished childhood home?

“Well, let’s go in!” Archie said, fishing for his keys. “Now where’d I put that key…”

Maxie’s worries about himself suddenly took a backseat as he Archie dug through his pockets a second time. And a third time. He was starting to look a bit panicked.

“…You don’t have the key.”

“I do, I do! It’s, uh, somewhere. Dammit!” He pulled out his pocket and scowled as only lint came out of it. “Not in this one either.”

“ _Archibald_.” Maxie said. “Please tell me we didn’t come all this way to Hoenn only to be locked out of the house with no way inside—!”

Before they could start up any sort of heated argument, the lock clicked and turned. The door opened all by itself and swung open far enough so that they could walk in hands free. They both stared in horror. Maxie’s eyebrows rose to his hairline.

“That’s…Your house isn’t…?”

“It  _shouldn’t_  be.” Archie said, just as surprised.

They stood there for a full minute, exchanging glances. From what Archie had told him, there was nobody living in the house. He vaguely wondered if there was a Ghost-type Pokemon lurking within. Maxie wasn’t sure if he could expect Archie to go in first, as he was quaking in his boots.

“I…I suppose we’ll have to go any see what’s in there.” Maxie said, walking up the steps. “Ghosts don’t exist. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for why the door opened…”

“Maxie, wait—!”

A white blur blew by his face. Maxie was halted in his tracks, grip tightening on the boxes in his hands. His eyes followed the blur around until it finally slowed in front of Archie, who seemed to recognize it.

“Togetic!”

The little white Pokemon fluttered around Archie’s head, trilling happily, before turning its attention to Maxie. At first he tensed when Togetic came in close enough to touch him but, upon seeing no danger after it gently rubbed up on his shoulder, he relaxed.

“Another of your Pokemon, Archie?” He asked.

“Well, he’s more of the family Pokemon.” Archie said, reaching up to pet Togetic. “I picked up an egg while I was out travelin’ and he hatched out of it! But he didn’t really fit in with the other two, and I didn’t have time to raise a baby Pokemon, so I left him back with my dad and sister. After they left he stayed to watch the house in case I came back.”

“I…see.” When Togetic decided to land on Maxie’s head, he sighed. “It certainly is your Pokemon, isn’t it? Ridiculously friendly little thing…”

“Haha! Nah, I think Togetic are just like that naturally.” Archie said with a smile. Togetic’s eyes flashed purple. “…Oh! So that’s how you did it!”

“What?”

“See, Togetic is a Normal-type, but it can use Psychic-type attacks.” Archie said. “It probably heard us comin’ and knew we were in a pinch, so it opened the door for us. In other words, my house ain’t haunted.”

After they took their things inside, Maxie was surprised to see that it, in fact, wasn’t haunted. However there was something just a bit eerie about all of the fishing trophies hanging on the wall, with their glass eyes and gaping mouths full of tiny sharp teeth. Pictures and tiny ships in bottles covered what wasn’t already covered with fish.

Essentially, it was a more extreme version of Archie’s apartment.

The house clearly wasn’t inhabited, not by any humans. Blankets and bed sheets covered the furniture and there were various nests dotting the living room where he assumed Togetic was sleeping. Every single light in the house was switched off save for a single glow that came from the kitchen.

Maxie set his box down on the coffee table in the living room.

“And…your parents are where now?”

“Not dead or anything, if that’s what you’re asking.” Archie said. “Mom’s still captaining her ship over near Olivine. Something about them only takin’ it from her when she’s dead and buried. Dad’s retired, went off to be with her. He never was the stay at home and play golf type.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t just sell the house. ”

“Well,” Archie said, shrugging, “my sister lived here for a while after they went mobile. But then she got married, moved off to Kalos, and I said I’d hang onto it. It’d be a shame to sell it, what with all those good memories stuck in these walls.”

“Yes,” Maxie said, eyeing the Magikarp on the wall that was staring right through him with piercing glass eyes, “all those wonderful memories.”

“But it was a good thing I did hold onto it, right?” Archie smiled at him. “Now we get to live here free of charge! Sure it’s a little small, but hey. It’s just us two and the Pokemon here. We can take the master bedroom—mattress needs to be replaced probably, but the bed’s large enough for us both.”

Maxie wandered off toward the kitchen as Archie continued to talk. It was simple and plain, an average Hoenn kitchen with a table big enough for Archie’s large family. A few dozen bags of Pokemon chow were nestled on top of it. The light came from a small lamp hanging over the sink, probably on for Togetic’s sake.

A sliding door led to another part of the house, a large open patio set before the more woodsy area of Slateport. There was a little wooden fence covering the rest of their property. Holes and blank patches of dirt were scattered throughout the yard, various ancient metal play equipment still stood tall, and the fence itself was broken in places.

It would need a bit of work, but perhaps they could fix it up to look more adult. He was already trying to come up with a good place to hide those damned fish on the wall.

“So…” Maxie turned back around. Archie was standing in the doorway, twiddling his fingers. “Ya like it, right? It’s alright?”

“It’s just fine, Archie. I’m sure we’ll be happy living here.”

 

* * *

 

The van showed up a day later with all of their additional things. As the house itself was fully furnished, they’d left the majority of the furniture behind in Kanto with some of the Rocket grunts that Archie knew.

However, they replaced the aging furniture in the master bedroom with some of their own before they slowly unpacked the individual boxes. Which was more time consuming than Maxie had originally anticipated. Apparently they had even more small things than he remembered packaging up the first time.

“Hell yeah, found my books!” Archie grinned as he pulled out his stack of old books from a very neatly organized box. He picked up the one on top,  _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ , and opened it. “Man, I’ve been dying to read this one again!”

Maxie eyed him with an arched eyebrow. “Should I leave you two alone while I continue unpacking?”

Archie grinned at him, but said nothing and set the book aside on the couch.

Bits and pieces were unpacked at a time. Book stands, pots and pans, boxes of towels and extra shoes, and Maxie even found a box that contained some of their old Rocket gear. He decided that box was better left taped up and under the bed.

“Hey, Max?” Archie suddenly spoke up. “Who’s this guy?”

Maxie popped up over a stack of boxes. Archie was holding one of his many picture frames but from the angle he was at, he couldn’t tell who was in it.

Being careful not to knock over Archie’s knickknack boxes, he made his way over and plucked it from his hands, looking it over for a moment before he said anything. The picture was of him and Ein in their late teens working on something or other on the floor of his living room. It was another rare picture of him smiling.

“That would be Ein. He was a close friend of mine.” He said. “That was us when we were younger.”

He handed it back to Archie, who eyed it fondly. “I always took ya to be the complete loner type.” He said. “No friends, no family, nothin’. How come you’ve never mentioned him?”

“Ah…I suppose he just never came up in conversation.” Maxie said. “You’re not wrong, though. I’ve always been happier on my own.” He took out a few sets of bed sheets and towels neatly stacked in a larger box. “But I do make friends sometimes, you of all people should know that.” Archie smiled at that. “Ein and I got along very well, both being interested in the sciences and having been different from our classmates. It’s no wonder that we gravitated toward each other.”

“You guys still in touch?”

“We used to write to each other. That is, before I got involved with Team Rocket.” Maxie said. “I think I’ve got the letters around here somewhere, but I highly doubt he still lives at that address.”

“Huh. Well, if you ask me, this picture belongs right where I can see it.” Archie said. He walked over to the shelf where the majority of the Aogiri family photos gravitated and set the frame down between one of him and Maxie together and a few other choice photographs. “There we go! Fits right in with the rest.”

Maxie looked at the wall and raised an eyebrow at Archie. He fit right in? It was more of a contrast than anything. The Aogiri family was dark-skinned, toned, always together, and always smiling. And there he was looking pale, skinny, lonely, and upset.

“I don’t know if I’d agree with that. I think I stand out a bit in comparison.”

“Yeah?” Archie compared two pictures, squinting at each of them as if he honestly couldn’t tell what Maxie wasn’t talking about. “I guess, maybe. But we can fix that!” He poked Maxie’s cheek. “Just gotta get a few good shots of you smilin’. You should practice more.”

Maxie huffed.

“And perhaps  _you_  should run into doors more often.”

Eventually they got all settled into the house and new things clashed with the old. After a long, intense debate with Archie, Maxie managed to banish the fishing trophies to the cellar with the promise that they’d replace them with pictures.

Unfortunately, Maxie had run out of pictures, but he’d promised to take new ones to make up for it.

Slowly but surely the house got cleaned. Individual things got dusted, the cobwebs removed from the corners of the house. The sheets were stripped off from the couches revealing some surprisingly well taken care of furniture. Archie’s Mightyena seemed more than happy to make itself a bed on the couch, much to Maxie’s dismay, while Numel settled for the bed that Maxie had put next to the armchair.

And, of course, Archie had to set up something for Carvanha. Which meant them digging an excessively large inflatable pool out from the shed, something that was easier said than done.

Archie had mentioned that the shed was basically the store-all for everything from tackle boxes to furniture to old toys and clothing, and the moment they opened the door Maxie’s eyes widened at the sheer amount of things that had been smashed inside of it.

This was arguably worse than the fish.

“Can’t we just use the smaller one?” Maxie said. “We’ve got that in the living room, and that’s already free standing.”

“No, that’s way too small.” Archie said from somewhere deep within the confines of the shed, somewhere past a set of bicycles, bottles of chemicals, and old carpet that had been rolled up and set aside. “The apartment was too small for any decent sized pool. That’s why I bought that thing. But now we’ve got the whole damn backyard to fill with a pool! He’s gonna have a  _real_  pool.”

“We’re literally a ten minute walk from the ocean, Archie. If it’s that big of a deal you could just let him loose there.”

Archie’s face appeared from behind a shelf, eyes narrowed. Maxie blinked. “I said we’re givin’ him a pool, so we’re givin’ him a pool.” He said. “‘Sides, it’s not like we’re going to be down by the bay all the time. How am I gonna make sure he gets the love and attention he needs if he’s all the way over there?”

“I’m surprised to hear that from you,” Maxie said, “considering how you’re so in love with the—”

“Aha! Found it!”

A large blue mass that was the Aogiri family swimming pool emerged from the hole they’d made in the junk and overtook Maxie, who let out a yelp as he toppled over with it. Cobwebs and dead leaves the the remnants of grasses from years gone by still clung to the plastic and rained down on Maxie’s hair.

“Couldn’t you have given me some warning,” Maxie said as he angrily pushed against the blue mass threatening to engulf him, “before you went and shoved this thing on me?!”

He head Archie shove the bikes out of the way, which landed on the concrete floor in a heap, before he appeared and lifted the inflatable pool off of Maxie almost effortlessly. Maxie gave him a look. Archie looked sheepish.

“Sorry, Max.”

“It’s…” Maxie picked a few leaves from his hair. “…Let’s just set up the pool so that Carvanha can…eugh, are these dead bugs?” Thoroughly annoyed, Maxie stood up and brushed off what looked to be the remnants of dead bug carcasses but they were so far gone that it was hard to tell anymore. “When was the last time anyone cleaned this shed?”

“I dunno. It’s been a hell of a long time.”

Maxie huffed and looked at the shed. Yet another project on the list. There was painting to be done, things to be moved, groceries to be bought. There was also plenty of paperwork still to be done, taxes to be filed, preparations to be made. At least for now they had plenty of time to do everything.

Maxie picked the last dried leaf from his hair and froze as a brand new thought came to his mind.

“…Arceus.”

“What?” Archie looked at him, expression turning worried. “What?”

Maxie looked at him with a serious face.

“We’re becoming fucking  _domestic_.”

Archie burst out laughing.

 

* * *

 

“No.”

“Yep!”

“Absolutely  _not_ , no.”

“C’mon, it’s just a little water!”

‘Just a little water’ was an understatement. Archie had dragged him out to Slateport’s massive beach that spanned an entire side of the massive city. Beach umbrellas, inflatable rafts, and lounge chairs dotted the landscape. But all Maxie could focus on was the roaring water behind all of that.

And those  _waves_ —Maxie stared, horrified, as waves big enough to drown someone crashed up against the shore. Little boys were screaming and laughing as they were splashed. A little girl was building a sandcastle. A larger, shirtless man covered in sunscreen walked around with an ice cream.

The beach had death written all over it.

“Archie, perhaps this has slipped your mind,” Maxie said with a sense of urgency in his voice, “but I  _cannot_  swim. Did you forget the cave incident? I have not learned to swim since the last time I nearly died. This time won’t be any different.”

“Oh, I remember the cave alright. All too well.” Archie said. “And that’s why I’ve brought ya out here. So that doesn’t happen ever again.”

Maxie eyed the waves of certain death again.

“This seems counter productive.”

“Look Max. Before I went off and trained Pokemon, I was a trained and certified lifeguard on this beach. I even helped some people with swimming lessons.” He looked at Maxie. “I’m a little rusty but I still know the basics.”

“Has it occurred to you that I don’t  _want_  to learn how to swim?”

“Maxie, we live on the water.” Archie said. “Knowin’ a thing or two about not drowning will really help ya. I’m not going to rush ya to learn  _everything_  today. We’ll start out small and simple. I also picked this up!”

Archie held out an inflatable floating ring that was styled to look like a Numel, complete with childish Numel head that was smiling stupidly. Maxie huffed at him.

“You’re embarrassing.”

“I could’ve got arm floaties instead. I still can, if ya want?”

Maxie snatched the inflatable Numel ring from him and stuck it under his arm, much to Archie’s amusement.  “I’ll have you know that I’m not going to enjoy this one bit.” He said. “If I’m caught by the undertow, get swept out to sea, and  _die_ , it’s your fault.”

Archie laughed. “Stop being so dramatic, Maxie. We’re not even going to go out that far.” He gestured at him. “C’mon. Gimme the sweater.”

“What?”

“Ya can’t go swimming in a sweater.”

Archie held out a hand. Maxie looked at it hesitantly. He wasn’t so keen on removing it, not when there were so many people around to stare at him. But Archie was insistent, and soon he pulled the sweater over his head and handed it over. Arms and shoulders now exposed, he hugged them in a feeble attempt to cover the freckles. At least he was still wearing an undershirt underneath.

“There. It’s off. Happy?”

“Very.”

They went toward one of the dozens of beach umbrellas. Archie neatly folded up Maxie’s sweater and placed it on the table. “Alright, I’ll just go ahead and save us a table here.” He said. He took off his shirt and added it to the collection of things. “Got anything else with you that shouldn’t get wet? Glasses?”

Maxie slowly took them off and placed them on top of the sweater.

“I hope you realize that I can’t see anything now.”

“No worries. I know where we’re going.”

The now shapeless blob that was Archie put the equally shapeless blob bag he was carrying with him up on the table. He rummaged through it, mixing both blobs of color together. Maxie squinted at him.

“Hey,” Archie said, “on a scale from nicely browned to ultra crispy, how bad do ya get when you go out in the sun?”

Maxie snorted. “There’s a very good reason I cover up, you know.”

“Got it.”

The Archie shaped blob approached him. Maxie watched him walk around to his back. Then, something icy cold touched his skin. He cringed.

“Hwah!”

“Sorry ‘bout that. It’ll warm up.”

Archie massaged the sunscreen onto Maxie’s shoulders. The cold feeling slowly dissipated. Maxie hummed, closing his eyes and relaxing under the touch. Archie certainly was good with his hands. Not that he didn’t already know that.

“Alright! Water time!”

With that peaceful moment gone forever, Maxie allowed himself to be guided to the water. The tricolor umbrellas and children in colorful swimsuits all faded into fuzzy swatches of paint against a vast background of blue. Despite trusting Archie to lead him the right way, he held out a hand in front of him out of instinct.

“Yer blind as a Zubat without those things, aren’t ya?”

“I wouldn’t go  _that_  far,” Maxie said, “but I can tell you that I certainly wouldn’t be able to tell you from a Conkledurr right now.”

Water lapped up at Maxie’s feet. He jumped back. When had they gotten this close to the water?

“Okay, Max, just take it in slowly.” Archie said.

They took two steps further into the water. Maxie shivered.

“It’s absolutely  _frigid_.” He said. It wasn’t, really, but it was cold enough to make him want to get back out. “Is it safe for everyone to be swimming when it’s this cold?”

“It’s not that bad, if you ask me.” Archie said. “About average. I’ve gone swimming when it was much, much colder and I was alright.” They waded in further, two more steps again, and the water rose up to Maxie’s knees. He stopped. This was far enough, apparently. “Take a minute to get used to it.”

“You mean…just stand here in the water? That’s all?”

“Yep. That’s all you gotta do right now. Get used to standing in the water, and breathe.” He said. “Just relax and breathe.”

Then Archie let go of his hands. Maxie heard him sloshing away further into the water.

“H-Hey, where are you going?” Maxie said, glancing around himself. He pressed the inflatable Numel ring to his chest. “I can’t see anything, how am I supposed to get back?”

“I’m still watching you, don’t worry.” Archie said. “It’s just way too hard to stand around in the ocean and not get a little wet!”

He heard Archie walk out of the water. Then, running, splashing, Archie cheering. There was a resounding splash of something heavy plunging into the depths of the water. He heard Archie surface a moment later, take a deep breath, and then sigh. More splashing. The darkness of the water blended Archie in seamlessly. He could swear that he heard a Pokemon being released.

“Archie?”

“Stay there, Maxie! I’ll be back in just a second!”

Maxie huffed. He gripped the soft plastic of the ring. Relax? When he was surrounded by the number one cause of drowning in all of Hoenn? How could he possibly relax? The sand below him was beginning to absorb his feet. He wiggled his toes. Sand slid in between them. He groaned. There was going to be sand everywhere in their house for weeks.

When Archie seemed to have disappeared into the oceanic void in front of him, Maxie decided to walk along what seemed to be the shoreline. It was certainly lighter and more sand-like than the abyss of the sea and was probably safe. The water splashed up against his legs and left them cold. His feet were now warm, having gotten used to the temperature.

But they weren’t used to the hole in the sand that he didn’t, and couldn’t, see.

“Dammit!”

He toppled forward into the water.  Immediately he shot back up and moved back from the hole. Who the hell had dug that? His hair, now soaked, was blocking what little he could see. The Numel ring floated away. His shirt was soaked, his shorts were soaked, everything was soaked. He muttered curses under his breath. Someone walked up to him.

“I think yer gettin’ ahead of yourself, Maxie.”

It was Archie. He pulled back one of the curtains of hair that was covering Maxie’s face. Said person glared at him. He kicked some water at Archie. It wasn’t very effective. “What was that? Running off and leaving me there.” He said with a scowl.

“I would’ve brought you in with me but somehow I figured you’d hate that even more.” Archie said. He glanced him up and down. “…Though, since yer all wet now anyway, it probably doesn’t matter.”

“You can’t possibly make me any more miserable than I already am.”

“Right! Guess we’ll move on.” He brushed Maxie’s hair back out of the way and turned to face the water. Probably. Maxie squinted at his face. “Okay, we’ll go out to about waist height. Then we’ll move around for a bit and I’ll introduce you to a couple basics. That alright?”

“Mm.” Maxie hugged his arms. He was freezing all over now and even the warm air around him didn’t do much to help. “Are we getting in or getting out? I’m absolutely freezing and have no interest in just standing here.”

Again Archie held his hands and led him out into the water. They went in deeper and deeper until the mysterious dark mass that Maxie had seen was now his reality. There was something deeply unsettling about standing in water all the way up to his waist but the fear was kept at bay by Archie. The Numel floating ring around his middle also helped.

“I know this is a little deep, but I’m not gonna make ya go under ‘r anything.” Archie said. “We’re just going to float.”

“F-Float.” Maxie repeated. “Right. Easy enough for you to say, you were practically born in the water.” He felt his feet sink into the sand again and he shifted around uncomfortably. Archie was laughing quietly.

“Yer the science type, aren’t ya? Even if yer all about those rocks,” He said, “it’s not too far of a stretch to think ya know something about water too. You can float pretty well. It’s not hard to get.”

“Yes. I realize.” Maxie said. “But I still float about as well as a—Ack!”

Something rough brushed his leg. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

“A-Archie, I think there’s something swimming around us.”

“Huh?” Something surfaced next to them, something vaguely with yellow and red on it as far at Maxie could tell. It let out a noise that was partially obscured by the water. “Hey! It’s Carvanha! Decided to come join us after all?”

“Why do you have that thing here with us?” Maxie asked, exasperated. “It took a chunk out of your leg, didn’t it? Won’t it do the same to me now that I’m at its mercy?”

Archie stared at him. Maxie stared, panic in his eyes. Then Archie laughed loudly.

“Arceus, Max!” He said, trying to talk in between laughing fits. “Don’t ya think I would’ve trained ‘im not to do that to people?”

“It’s hard to tell with you sometimes. Sometimes I can’t help but feel like you prefer the “rugged wild man” persona.”

“He’s not going to bite ya, I promise. I doubt he’d like the way ya tasted anyhow.” Archie moved them even deeper. “Now, what I want ya to do is just relax. Just get used to the feeling.”

Maxie shifted his feet. He looked up at Archie.

“You’re…not going to leave again, are you?”

Archie’s grip on him increased just a little bit. “Nope. I’ll stay right here with ya.” He said. “The whole time.”

And he did.

 

                                              


	9. Act III Part II

Archie had come into the kitchen, where Maxie was eating, with a rolled up newspaper in his hands. Maxie watched him unfurl it and open it up over the table with a great big smile on his face. He raised an eyebrow.

“Alright, Max! The big hunt is on!”

“Did you lose the Golbats again?”

“Jobs, Maxie! I’m talkin’ about jobs!” Archie said. “As great as it is spendin’ plenty of time with ya, I’d like to get to what we came here for!”

“Ah. Yes.”

It had taken them a few weeks to get the house in the state that they’d wanted it to be in, and another month to adjust to this new life. They’d been living off of their savings until that moment. It made ends meet for the most part, mostly due to the fact that they didn’t need to pay rent and Maxie’s excellent money saving skills, until their last grocery visit when Maxie discovered they were down to their last ten thousand Pokedollars.

Archie had told him once that it would be simple for him to get a job in Slateport. From the looks of the ads in the newspaper, that seemed to be true. The majority of the listings were for ship hands, help at the docks, help with ferry construction and planning at the shipyard, and various other sea-themed jobs.

Maxie, however, would have a more difficult time.

“There’s a little old man who cleans up the beaches. Think he’s got a team with him now.”

“No.”

Archie scratched his chin. “…Hmm. Mauville’s more centered on power, but I heard there was some kinda expedition going out to some volcanic island.” He said. “Maybe they could use a geologist?”

“I think we both have seen all too well how I do on a boat.” Maxie said, turning the page of the newspaper to look at alternative options. “It’s too bad that Rustboro is three hours by train. The man in charge has an affinity for stones and I’ve heard good things about their research programs. I might have looked for employment there.”

“Why don’t ya try Dewford?” Archie suggested. “That’s only about an hour by boat. And the cave—”

“—Yes. I know. The cave.” Maxie shook his head. “It’s a small town, Archie, I don’t think there’s much to look for in terms of jobs. If the location is as popular as you say, then it will already be crawling with archaeologists and geologists alike. And it’s not exactly like I have the best resume as it is.”

Archie made a face at him but didn’t argue. Maxie went back to reading the ads on the paper.

During his time with Team Rocket, Maxie hadn’t thought about the after effects all that much, but now he was wondering just how much those years working with criminals had cost him. Certainly he did have that internship with Silph Co. under his belt, but that still wasn’t much to go on. He refused to lower himself to the level of food service.

“Hey, check that out! The museum in town is hirin’!”

“There’s a museum in this city?”

“Yeah!” Archie perked up. “The Oceanic Museum is out by the harbor. It’s not all that big compared to, say, the Museum of the Arts in Lilycove, but the things inside it are pretty nice. I’m surprised I didn’t mention it before, I totally love that place! It’s the best museum in the world!”

Oceanic Museum. Of course.

“That certainly sounds like something you would enjoy.” Maxie said. “Perfect for a nerd like you.”

“Who ya callin’ a nerd, ya rock lovin’ nerd?”

Maxie looked up at him, a small smirk on his face. “ _You_ , Sharpedo scars.”

Archie reached up to touch the scar on his nose. “They make me look rugged.” He said defensively.

“Whatever you say.”

 

* * *

 

The museum building was two floors packed with interesting displays ranging from simple visuals to more hands on, kid friendly exhibits. Maxie couldn’t see that portion of the museum, but he could hear the sounds of splashing and children shouting from the room labeled “KID ZONE”.

Archie had purchased their tickets but was far too busy chatting with the attendant at the desk, whose name was “Bradley” apparently, as if he’d known him all his life. Maybe he had. Though, really, Maxie could easily say the same thing for the majority of the people they met in Slateport. Archie seemed to be interconnected with almost everyone.

“Sorry about that!” He handed over Maxie’s ticket. “Been a hell’uva long time since I’ve seen him.”

“An old friend?”

“Yeah, we went to Pokemon Trainer’s School together.” He said. “We were going to go out and travel Hoenn together when we got older, but it didn’t work out. Wasn’t his thing. The guy’s a natural at surfing, though!”

They passed through the entryway leading into the museum. Archie, knowing the exact way the museum should be toured, led him first to the lower left hand side of the museum, then to the middle, then the lower right hand side. They passed the odd depth calculating machine, the Whirlpool experiment, an expanding ball which seemed to utterly mystify Archie, and finally they stopped in front of the collection of ripple marks toward the back of the room.

“Ah.” Maxie eyed the various different kinds. “I remember seeing some of these fossils in your bedroom. You have quite the collection.”

“Yeah! They’re the coolest, aren’t they? It’s like a window into the sea of the past. And,” Archie said, grinning at him with a satisfied smile, “they’re rocks. Perfect for you, am I right?” Maxie just shook his head at him.

“Archie?”

An older woman in a similar uniform as the attendant had been was standing behind them. Archie perked up. “Hey!” He moved past Maxie to greet her with a hug. “Feels like it’s been ages!”

“It certainly has been too long!” She said with a chuckle. “Far too long since you stopped by. Why, it even became downright dull without you around!”

“Oh, well, y’know…” Archie shrugged. “I walk into a room and light up the place!”

The small talk began and Maxie’s interest ceased. He turned his attention instead back toward the ripple marks in the display case in front of him. The little metal plaque in front of it displayed a simple explanation for them, pitiful if you asked him, but it was probably meant more for a younger reader audience.

“Oh!” The woman daintily walked to Maxie with a renewed smile on her face. “I’m being rude, aren’t I? I don’t believe we’ve met.” She extended a friendly hand to Maxie which he took firmly. “And you are?”

“Maximilian Matsubusa.”

He regretted saying that awful name the moment it came out of his mouth.

“Matsubusa?” She gasped and put a hand to her mouth. “As in…Professor Matsubusa? Oh my goodness gracious, I-I didn’t recognize you. I don’t mean to be rude, but you look awfully young to be—”

“Yes, I realize, and that’s because Professor Matsubusa is my father.” Maxie said icily. The word tasted like poison.

The woman blinked several times. “Oh.” She said, deflating. Maxie saw the spark in her eyes dim. She’d been so enthusiastic to get autographs or a handshake from him, hadn’t she? “I wasn’t aware that he had a son.”

There was an insult coupled with a short speech just waiting to happen. But at the last second Maxie held back on his snappy comment. As dull as this woman was, she was someone whom Archie cared about. It would be rude to yell at her. Especially when she did not understand the situation. He took a deep breath, released it, and composed himself again.

“It’s a common mistake.” He said. “He doesn’t talk about me much.”

“Well…anyway, you two make yourself at home.” She said, smile returning. “If you need me I’ll be over at the reception desk.”

Her heels clicked against the floor as she daintily returned to the desk where she had been working. Maxie rubbed at his temple. Archie scratched his chin.

“…Professor Matsubusa. I know that name from somewhere.” Archie mumbled.

Maxie sighed. “He wrote a few books some time ago about Pokemon habitats.” He said. “The ones you have on the shelf in your bedroom, to be exact.”

“Wait. You’re related to  _that_  Matsubusa?” Archie’s eyebrows rose. “Why didn’t ya say anything?”

“Because of reactions like that,” Maxie said, gesturing at the woman at the desk, who was glancing over at them with interest, “from people in the science community who adore that man’s research. If I’d said to you back in Cerulean Cave that I was related to him would you have thought of me differently?”

“No!” But Archie looked conflicted a moment later when Maxie gave him a skeptical look. “Well, okay, _maybe_.” Archie said. “But I mean even I own a couple of his books.”

“Let’s burn them.”

“ _Max_.”

Said person snorted. “I’m not in the mood for this.” He said. “I’m going to see the rest of the museum.”

Whatever came out of Archie’s mouth next, Maxie didn’t hear it. He didn’t care. The stairs were more interesting now. He passed by a few young boys in camping outfits on his way up the stairs but paid them no mind.

He’d been so good about avoiding the topic of his family since the cave. Why did he have to go and open his stupid mouth now? He glared at the models of ships that he passed by. Now Archie would be questioning him for days. Where was the good professor? Was he writing anything new? Oh, Maxie, what was it like living under the same roof as him? He rolled his eyes. Ridiculous.

Past the selections of model boats was a large room with a few chairs and a large monitor. The sign beside it read “THE RISE AND FALL OF THE TIDES: SCREENINGS EVERY TEN MINUTES”. The monitor was currently blank. Maxie assumed he’d arrived during an intermediate moment.

With nobody else around, he picked the most comfortable looking chair, the one directly in front, and curled up into it.

Two minutes later, the show began.

“ _What is a tide?_ ” Said some man with a ridiculous hairstyle that was before Maxie’s generation. “ _And what causes them to move the way they do? Well I’ll tell you! See, when the moon moves…_ ”

The video was for children, clearly. Poorly constructed, poorly thought out, and the choice in background music was sub-par. Yet somehow this seemed perfect for a young Archie, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on his way to learn everything about the sea, who probably brought along his Carvanha in a bowl so it could watch too.

“Maxie.”

Speak of the devil.

“I’m not getting you an autograph so don’t ask.”

Archie settled in the chair beside him. Together they watched the over the top video for a few minutes before either said anything.

“Figured you’d come hide in here. It’s dark and quiet. I used to watch these dumb videos all the time, y’know.” Archie said. “Came up here to do projects, do homework, get away from everything else for a bit.” Archie’s gaze was on him. “…Y’don’t have to talk about him if ya don’t want to. I’m not gonna make ya.” He said. “But I won’t lie, I’m real curious why y’don’t seem like him.”

Maxie rested his head on his knees. He didn’t take his eyes off the man in the movie. Crazy hair man walked off the background, that was clearly edited in with a green screen, and went off to a beach in Kanto. He was babbling some nonsense about Pokemon now.

“…Professor Takeo Matsubusa was certainly a great researcher.” Maxie said. “A talented writer, a bit of a shut in, but always knew best when it came to Pokemon behavior.” They weren’t his own words. “But where did he go? One day he stepped off the side of the Earth and was never seen again.” He chuckled darkly.  “Where did he go indeed.”

“Janet said she’d never heard that he had a kid.” Archie said. 

“I’m sure it wasn’t a complete shock. I don’t doubt there’s plenty of solid evidence of my existence somewhere. Most tend to forget that even professors have children and families.” Maxie said. “My father never really did enjoy the spotlight, though, so he kept me away from it as well.”

“ _What’s the difference between a high tide and a low tide?_ ” The man on the monitor said, seeming to expect an answer from his audience. “ _Don’t worry if you don’t know. I’ll show you!_ ”

“I remember ya said ya lived in Hell.”

“It’s not a lie. Not really.” Maxie said. “If you’ve ever been to Orre, it’s like a smaller version of Hell. Hot, barren, nothing but sinners running around. There are no Pokemon there either. No behavior to study. Who would think to look for the amazing professor and his little bastard son there?”

“Orre, huh.” Archie hummed. “I’ve heard of that place before. Couldn’t put it to a map off the top of my head, but I’ve heard of it.”

“He told me once that we were going there for new opportunities, that things would be better for us. For me. I believed him when I was that young but now I understand what he meant.” He shook his head. “My mother probably paid him to keep me as far away from her as possible. As far as she was concerned, I was just the black mark on her perfect record.”

“Not on good terms with her either?”

“We haven’t spoken since I was very young.”

“In other words, I shouldn’t ask.”

“I’d prefer that you didn’t.”

He felt Archie’s hand on his shoulder. “That…does explain a lot about ya though.” He said. “Why ya don’t like talkin’ about yerself. If I had a childhood like that, I’d probably clam up about it too.”

Maxie finally looked at him. Archie’s face was full of sympathy. “…It took me a long time to realize that most parents weren’t like that.” Maxie said. “When I was young I thought that was the way everything was. That everyone fended for themselves. You should have seen how upset I got when I met Ein’s parents the first time.”

“ _This is a Krabby!_ ” Crazy hair man once again reminded them of his presence. He was gesturing to the Krabby at his feet. It bounced around and did a little dance, as it was probably trained to do. “ _They and others make up the tide pools that you see in Kanto and Johto. In Hoenn, you’re much more likely to see…_ ”

“My father got caught in a tight spot with some thugs. Drove him to drink later on since he couldn’t keep up with their demands.” Maxie said loud enough that it could be heard over the talks on tide pools.

“He didn’t…?”

“No. He didn’t touch me. I stayed out of his way.” Relief seemed to flow over Archie. Maxie continued on. “I suppose it would explain how I myself came to be involved with Team Rocket though. Like father like son, as they say.” He let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “And I used to think that we were nothing alike. We’re both so pitiful.”

Archie gave him a stern look. “Don’t talk like that.”

“And why not? It’s true, after all!” Maxie snapped. “I followed in the old man’s footsteps. I got myself in trouble more times than I can count. I even got him in trouble. I wasn’t meant to exist!”

“Maxie…”

“Would things be better would things be without me? Certainly my parents would say so!” Maxie said, glaring at the crazy haired man who was doing a dance with some Water-type Pokemon. “Maybe this world would actually still be in touch with Professor Matsubusa! Maybe my mother and father would have never split in the first place! Shall I go on?”

Archie seemed at a loss for words. Maxie grumbled to himself, but he knew he shouldn’t be dumping all of this pent up frustration on him. He knew it wasn’t right. But Archie still said nothing. There was still a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey…” Archie finally said. “If ya want me to leave ya alone for a bit, give ya some space, I can do that.” Maxie withdrew further into himself. “The guys at the desk need me to fill out some forms anyway before I go in for any kind of interview. Will you be alright up here all by yerself?”

“I’ll be fine.”

Archie gave him a half smile.

“Well…I’ll be downstairs, if ya need me for anything.”

Archie left without another word. Maxie watched him leave silently, unsure of what to say. The crazy-haired man continued talking on screen, utterly oblivious to anything.

 

* * *

 

Later that day, Maxie left the museum alone and in silence. Archie had been called into an interview and probably wouldn’t be back for a while. To get his mind off of things, he took it upon himself to look through some of the items that were laying around the house, which were always interesting.

Archie’s room in particular was a time capsule from his childhood. The bed, a bunk bed, was nicked and scarred as if an entire pack of Poochyena had come in and chewed on it, however the beds themselves were tidy and untouched. Taped to the walls were dozens of stylized Pokemon posters ranging from Azurill to Kyogre, which had at least four individual posters dedicated solely to it.

There were two skinny bookshelves framing the window—which was trimmed with Sharpedo-themed curtains—that were haphazardly filled to the point of overflow with books, movies, toys, and other things. It was much like the one Archie had back in Celadon.

Maxie read the names on the spines—school reading lists, novels, a few yearbooks, and multiple thick folders were just some of the contents—and pulled a thick blue folder from it, which was crudely labeled “STORYS” in what looked to be a child’s handwriting.

Togetic flew into the room and hovered over his shoulder as he opened up the folder and began to read the topmost written work—“Azurills Ocean Adventure”.

The four page masterpiece recounted the harrowing adventure of a lost Azurill and Wailmer in the wilds of “that one part of the ocean” only to be happily reunited with their loved ones later. He snorted. It sounded just like Archie to write that. Togetic let out a giggle, clearly familiar with this tale of tragedy and despair.

Various other stories of similar length filled the folder. The majority were written about the lives of Sharpedo and the mysterious pirates from Route 128, which had their own series. He made a mental note to bring up the comment about how “cool” and “ausom” Sharpedo scars were with him later.

He shifted his gaze to the desk, where there were no fewer than five pictures in a single collection standing on it. The majority featured him, his family, and what he assumed were his friends, but one in particular caught his eye. It was a much, much younger Archie together with some girl. Both were dressed in the traditional Hoenn costume with a Pokemon smiling between them.

Maxie blinked. Was that a Jirachi?

The front door opened.

“Max? I’m back.”

Archie sounded unsure of himself. Maxie set the photo back down. “I’m in here.” He called out. “In your bedroom.”

“Yer what? What’re ya doin’ in there?”

“Oh, nothing, really. Just digging through some of your more interesting things.” When Archie poked his head into the room, eyes narrowed, Maxie snickered. He held up the folder “You were quite the writer when you were younger, weren’t you?”

“I was seven and I thought I did a  _great_ job.” Archie said with a huff. “I’ll bet you were writing all kinds of shit about rocks when ya were that age.”

“Oh, darn, you caught me red handed. How embarrassing.”

Maxie tucked the folder away with the rest of Archie’s old things. He looked around at some of the other things in the room; a stack of plushies in the corner, some model ships lined up on a tiny work desk, an old, worn chair covered in stickers. But it was the large ship mounted on the wall that really caught his eye.

“This seems familiar.”

“I had two just like it back in Celadon.” Archie said. “I think they’re still in boxes somewhere, just waiting to be put up.”

Hesitantly, Maxie reached out and touched the carefully painted blue hull of the boat. Each plank, each piece, every little individual string that held in the rigging seemed to have been carefully put in by hand.

“This is incredible.” He said, letting his eyes roam all over it. “I thought your father was only the type of man to catch and preserve fish.”

“He is, most of the time.” Archie said. “But I mean, me and him, we got up to some other stuff from time to time. When we both had a minute we used to sit down and build these little model ships together.” He chuckled. “Took us forever to finish one since he was out at sea most the time.”

“Well, they certainly are lovely when complete. How long did you two take on this one?”

“Oh, uh, that one’s just my work actually.” Maxie looked at him, surprised. Archie scratched the back of his neck. “I got tired of waitin’ around so I made that one all on my own. You can probably tell, too. The mast’s kinda tilted, the wood’s not glued right in a couple places…I usually leave this one here. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Oh, really?” Maxie looked back at it. Now that he looked at it a second time, the mast did lean slightly to the right, and wood did stick up in places. But, somehow, it didn’t take away from it at all. “Even so, you put so much time into it. It really shows.”

“Ya like it that much, huh?” Archie rested a hand on his shoulder. Maxie looked at him. “If ya want, you can have the thing.”

“Are you sure you want to hand out something this special?”

“I’ve got three of ‘em, Max.” Archie said. “It’s no big deal.”

Maxie looked over the ship carefully. Then, he carefully put his hands under the ship and lifted it up to get a better look at it. He could probably place it on the desk in the room with the computer if he wanted. It also would need a very careful cleaning. Dust was coating the masts and deck of the ship from what was probably years of being forgotten about.

“Thank you, Archie. I’ll take very good care of it.”

“So,” Archie began, catching Maxie’s attention once more, “I was thinkin’ tempura for dinner tonight.” He held up a plastic bag of what Maxie imagined to be supplies. “That okay with you?”

“That’s fine.”

There were a lot of things that Maxie loved about Archie. His friendly persona, bulging muscles, how forgiving he could be…and yet none of these quite matched his cooking skills. Although he wasn’t as skilled with recipes from Kanto, Johto, or Unova, his Hoenn-centric recipes were divine and it was a sad, cold night whenever Archie decided he wasn’t in the mood to cook.

Maxie himself wasn’t a very good cook. Boiling water and toast were about all he could do without ruining something. So he was more than happy to simply assist Archie with whatever he made. It meant more than his fair share of seafood dinners, but he couldn’t really complain.

Though the Aogiri family kitchen was rather small, it was perfect for the two of them, a large set of bowls, and whatever Pokemon decided to barge in and stare while they were at it. Tempura as a recipe was surprisingly simple and Archie had tried to teach him his ways, but Maxie could never quite catch on.

This left him as the grand master of mixing the water, egg, and flour into an okay consistency while Archie did the more difficult work of removing the tricky veins from the prawns.

An awkward silence, probably leftover from earlier events, filled the room. Maxie wasn’t sure how to break it outside of the quiet scraping of the whisk with the metal bowl. Then, Archie sighed.

“…Maxie, about earlier today.”

“What about earlier today?” Maxie said.

“I just…you seemed really upset.” Archie said. “And the whole time I was doin’ paperwork and talking to everyone at the museum I was thinking…I really don’t know much about you, do I?” Maxie paused in stirring the batter to look at Archie, who was staring down at the prawns in front of him with an unreadable expression. “We’re together and all, but you’re still so secretive about everything. You went through all of that and never even told me.”

“Archie, it’s not that big of a deal.” Maxie said. “Really, it’s not.” He continued stirring calmly and slowly. “Earlier, that…I was just angry. That woman brought up things I’d rather forget. I was angry at my parents, I still am angry at myself for not doing something about my situation sooner—”

“What could ya have done, though?” Archie said, looking at him. “You were just a kid, Max. Ya didn’t know any better.”

“I could’ve left when I was young to be a trainer. But I didn’t.” Maxie said. “I had a Pokemon. I had my license by age ten. But I didn’t leave. I had that choice and I didn’t take it.”

They both went silent, only the bubbling of oil and the soft sounds of Archie removing the veins from each prawn filling the room. Maxie set the bowl of batter into some ice water he’d prepared. It was a while before anyone said anything. Finally, Maxie spoke up.

“…You said that you felt like you didn’t know me, despite everything. What about me don’t you know,” Maxie began, “that you would like to know?” Archie looked at him, surprised. Maxie eyed him carefully. “You’ve told me plenty about yourself over the past few years that I’ve known you, so it’s only fair that I do the same.”

Archie seemed conflicted. He continued to carefully pull the veins out from the prawns thoughtfully. Then started what would be an onslaught of questions; did he have any siblings? What kinds of things did he do when he was young? In his travels, what kinds of places did he see?

Maxie answered soon after.

“We mostly stayed to the cities.” Maxie said. “Castelia, Lumiose, I believe we even went to Rustboro once but I was far too young and it was far too brief.” Archie handed him a prawn, which he dipped twice and then coated with breadcrumbs before placing it in the hot oil. “I spent most of my time reading, or watching television, or playing with Numel. We didn’t have any video games. And I’m an only child.”

Archie handed over another prawn. “…You and that Ein guy,” Archie said, “were you guys ever…a thing?”

“Are you asking if I’ve ever dated him?” Archie nodded slowly. “Yes, actually, but it was a very long time ago.”

Archie pursed his lips. “I knew it.”

“We got on very well, actually. I think our parents were mostly oblivious to it, despite the fact that we were…not exactly subtle about it.” Maxie chuckled. “At some point we took a break and saw other people for a while before trying it again towards the tail end of our college days. Eventually I went one way and he went the other. I certainly wasn’t going to stay in that hellhole Orre.”

“And yet ya want to fix it?”

Maxie placed another few prawns into the oil. “Maybe if the people living there had better access to resources,” he said, “it would be significantly less of a hellhole. Besides, Ein still lives there. It’s not fair of me to leave the poor fool to suffer there.”

“Should I be expectin’ trouble from him?”

Maxie raised an eyebrow, a smug smile on his face. “Why? You aren’t…jealous, are you?” When Archie huffed, he let out a quiet chuckle. “Unless he’s suddenly gained the ability to find me despite not even knowing where I’ve gone, I doubt you’ll have anything to worry about.”

The pieces of tempura floated around in the oil. Archie poked at them with a set of tongs, turning them over occasionally and removing the more browned ones.

“Am I…as good as he was?” Archie said. Maxie blinked in surprise. “I mean…I know we don’t always see eye to eye on things and sometimes we fight—”

“Oh, honestly.” Maxie shook his head. “I followed your sorry ass onto a ship and into the ocean and I hate both of those things more than anything else. Do you really think I’d be with you, staying in this little cottage, if I could find someone better?”

Archie furrowed his eyebrows and adopted a thoughtful look before it seemed to dawn on him that he was being complimented. “…Yeah, ya wouldn’t, would ya?” He said, a grin tugging at his lips. “I guess that means I’m the best there is, huh?”

“Don’t let it get to your head.”

A soft whine came from below the counter. Both Maxie and Archie looked down to see Mightyena, ears perked and tail wagging, with its eyes stuck on the tempura. Beyond it the two Golbats were standing side-by-side with their wings folded up. Their eyes were also on the freshly made food. Togetic was sitting on the counter, grinning. It must have let them out.

“I thought I told you to stop feeding them table scraps?” Maxie said. “You’re spoiling them.”

“What’s the harm in a few pieces of meat here and there? Probably tastes better than whatever the hell we’re makin’ them eat.”

The two ate at the little table in the kitchen with the Pokemon surrounding them on the floor. It was a bit unnerving, Maxie thought, to be stared at by so many hopeful, determined faces. Archie occasionally tossed Mightyena and his Golbat a few pieces of tempura batter that had come off in the process of making everything, much to their delight and to Maxie’s dismay.

Archie then continued his questioning slowly and casually with Maxie answering. The process went on for a good twenty minutes before Archie asked his final question.

“…Yer favorite color’s red, right?”

Maxie snorted.

“Was it the sweater or the hair that gave that one away?”


	10. April Fool's Day Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> maxei, teh leadr of team lava has a crumy lief. Special fangz 2 my gf (not in that way) chii 4 helpin me wif da story and spelling. U rok! no flamez r i will bet u!!!! lol

A/N: STOP FLAMMING DA STORY PREPZ (that means u rye!!!!) OK! odderwize fangs 2 da goffik ppl 4 da good reveiws! FANGS AGEN CHII! oh yeah, BTW I don’t own dis.

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The next day I woke up in my coffin that I shared with Archie. I put on my sweater that was all red and covered up my neck and a matching pair of pants that covered up just about everything and a pair of shorts over that and then boots that were also red as well and also my glasses.

In the kitchen I ate some toast. The Pokeomn were there ass well. Archie came.

“good mornin” archie said

“good morning 2″ i said back

“hey bitch u look kawai” archie said “is that a nwe sweater??”

“no” i said

“well im gonna go take a shower” said archeops “u want 2 cum wit?”

“maybe later” i said

Then Archei left. The phone rang and rang and rang and rang and rang but I was too depressed to get up and get it. I thought about my mother. I cired tears of blod. The phone rang again and I answered it.

“what teh fuck do u want!!!” i shooted angstily

“ahahahahahahaha!! look oot teh windo!!!”

I did. It was an horrible man with green hair and a tem rocket outfit with white boots and a big red r and everything! He looked really awful (basically like Proton in the games) and he was wearing all black but it was obvious he wasn’t gothic. It was…… Proton!  
  
“No!” I shouted in a scared voice but then Proton shouted “knife-chan!” and he fflew in throew teh window!!!  
  
“Maximailion.” he yelled. “Thou must bring me Mew!”  
  
I thought about Archie and his sexah eyes and his gothic black hair and how his face looks just like John Madden.  
  
“No, Prooton!” I shouted back.  
  
Proton gave me a gun. “No! Please!” I begged.  
  
“Thou must!” he yelled. “If thou does not, then I shall kill thy beloved Archie!”  
  
“How did u know?” I asked in a surprised way.  
  
Crouton got a dude-ur-so-dum look on his face. “I hath telekinesis.” he answered cruelly. “And if you doth not get Mew, then thou know what will happen to Archie!” he shouted. Then he flew away angrily on his knife.  
  
I was so scared and mad I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly Archie came into the kitchen.

“Archie!” I said. “Hi!”  
  
“Hi.” he said back but his face was all sad. He was wearing foundation and messy eyeliner kind of like a pentagram (geddit) between John Madden and Gerard Way.  
  
“Are you okay?” I asked.  
  
“No.” he answered.  
  
“I’m sorry I don’t tell u about tings.” I expelled.  
  
“That’s okay.” he said all depressed and he started singing everybody wants to rule the world by tears for fears. 

I gasped. 

We went back into the bedroom together making out. There I started crying.

“What’s wrong honey?” asked Orgy taking off his clothes so we could screw. He had a sex-pack (geddit cuz hes so sexah) and a really huge you-know-what and everything.

“Its so unfair!” I yielded. “Why can’t I just be “normal” or ugly like all da other frat guys except for Seteven, because he’s not ugly or anything.”

“Why would you wanna be ugly? I don’t like the frat guys anyway. They are such moronic idiots.” answered Archie.

“Why couldn’t Darkrai have made me less handsome?” I shoted angrily. (a/n don’t wory amxie isn’t a snob or anyfing but a lot of ppl hav told him hes hot) “Im good at too many things! WHY CAN’T I JUST BE NORMAL? IT’S A FUCKING CURSE!” I shouted and then I ran away.

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AN: IS it good? PLZ tell me fangz!


	11. Act III Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus Christ, it's been ages hasn't it? 
> 
> First off I want to apologize for making everyone wait this long (three months holy shit) for another chapter of my fanfic. I had plans to update back in May, but things didn't go how they were supposed to. Health, school, life, some serious writer's block, and a couple other big issues relating to mental health have kept me from writing. 
> 
> I can't promise a speedy update after this, but I'm gonna try my best to get in the swing of things! For those of you looking to keep updated on my work (or are looking for somewhere to glare at when I don't update) you can find me over at my Tumblr blog, [clowncoupons](http://clowncoupons.tumblr.com)!

Another long, probably uneventful day was about to begin. Maxie was busy preparing toast for himself and breakfast for the Pokemon. Archie had color coded sets of bowls for their Pokemon; blue ones for Archie’s, and red for Maxie’s. The sunroom had become the official “Pokemon zone” that was quickly taken over by toys and blankets. It was all Maxie could do to keep it tidy.

“Mightyena, Numel...and the Golbats.” Maxie muttered to himself as he set down each bowl. The Pokemon scrambled over and dug in. He snorted. “This isn’t a contest, everyone. There’s no rush.”

Newspaper tucked under his arm, he returned to the kitchen. Two pieces of toast sprang up from the toaster. They were a bit overdone for Maxie’s taste, but they’d do. He set them aside on a plate, grabbed a fresh cup of coffee, and took both to the table with him. Togetic had settled down beside him, nibbling away at its own bowl of food that Archie had put out for it earlier.

The wanted ads were about as helpful as they had been last week. And the week before that. And the week before that. Maxie simply didn’t have the qualifications, or the interest, for work at sea. He’d had more luck searching online, but apparently there were other people in Slateport with “better qualifications”. He wished that he had more connections in the city. That was something he would have to work on.

Archie, of course, had gotten his job in a matter of days,  which Maxie assumed was because he knew a guy who knew a guy who knew another guy. Maxie rubbed his temple. It was a stupid, rigged system.

The house phone rang in the next room. Maxie ignored it. But the phone rang again. And again after that. And three more times.

“Archie!” he called out. “Archie, the phone!”

Archie was nowhere to be seen. Maxie picked up on the sound of rushing water. He was in the shower. Of course.

The phone rang again. It was impossible, clearly, to ignore the thing. Eventually Maxie got up to answer it. It wasn’t a number he recognized, but he figured it was probably a work related call for Archie. And he was busy. What a perfect moment for them to call.

“...Aogiri residence.” Maxie said into the phone. “Maximilian speaking. Archibald Aogiri is unavailable at the moment, can I take a message?”

“ _Ha!_ ” A familiar voice barked out a laugh. “ _Nice to hear from you too, Red_.”

A spike of dread went through him. Maxie stood up straighter.

It couldn’t be.

“...How the hell did you get this number.”

“ _Wasn’t difficult_.” Proton said. “ _You know where to look, you find what you’re looking for. Figured you’d follow that boneheaded bodyguard wherever he went like a little lost Growlithe_.”

Maxie’s mind was racing. There should not have been any contact information, not to Archie’s residence in Hoenn. And even if there was, the Rocket base in Celadon had been stripped at least ages ago now. How did they find him?

He covered the speaker of the phone and glanced around. The shower was still going, the Pokemon were still eating. Nobody had heard anything.

Perhaps, if he simply put hung up, put the phone back in place...

“ _Oh, and before you get any bright ideas_.” Proton said suddenly. “ _Do me a favor and look out your window_.”

Frowning, Maxie went to the window in the front room and peeled back the blinds with a finger. Across the way was that old payphone he and Archie had passed a few times, the one he thought no longer worked.

In the booth was Proton, finger curled around the cord, with a smirk on his face. He saluted Maxie.

Hoenn had been nominated as one of the safest places to live, with its minimal crime and no real gang violence to report. For the most part things were calm and quiet. Maxie hadn’t given any thought to Team Rocket possibly having influence here. Hoenn was too far away, it was too time consuming, too troublesome to have anyone run any operations across the sea. Why would they invest in it?

Clearly he was wrong.

Maxie was quiet. Proton was quiet. The entire house seemed to stand completely still at that moment save for the sound of rushing water from the shower and Archie’s sudden muffled singing.

“ _Meet me in the harbor tonight. I dug up something new on the case_.” Proton said. “ _If I don’t see you...well. Let’s just say I’ll be seeing you either way._ ”

The line went dead. Maxie stepped away from the window. The bathroom door opened. Archie walked out into the living room, drying off his hair with a towel.

“Oh man, that shower sure does get hot as hell! Gotta love it!” He looked at Maxie. “Were ya callin’ for me? Did the phone go off?” Maxie looked at him. “It wasn’t work, was it?”

Maxie glanced at the phone in his hand before he set it back in the holder. “It...wasn’t anything important. Nobody important.” he said. “Wrong number.”

“Huh. Weird.” Archie toweled off his hair and headed for the kitchen. “What’s for breakfast, Max? Anything special on yer mind?”

But Maxie didn’t answer him. He continued to stare at the phone for a long moment, contemplating just what to do. Proton knew where he lived. What else did he know?

There was no escaping Team Rocket.

 

* * *

 

The lively docks of Slateport were much different late at night. Everything but the streetlights had gone out, and there wasn’t another human soul to be seen. A few Wingull were perched on top of the light still, but not a sound came from them. Maxie held his arms. Being this close to the water, swimming lessons or not, still made Maxie uncomfortable. But at least they weren’t meeting inside his and Archie’s house.

It was eerie, very eerie. What a perfect place to meet an evil, scheming Rocket executive.

He found Proton behind a larger sailboat covered in tarp. Maxie pushed up his glasses with a finger. This wasn’t going to go like last time they’d met.

“Look what the Meowstic dragged in!” Proton said. “It’s about time you got here. I was about to go off and find you myself.” He took a step toward Maxie and looked him over, frowning. “Where’s the information, Red?”

“What information?” Maxie said.

“The information on  _Mew_ , you dumbass. Do I have to spell this out for you?”

Maxie crossed his arms. “You’re assuming I still have this stuff tucked away somewhere.” he said. “Which I do not. I got rid of it the moment I left.”

“Hilarious, Red, real hilarious. You’re lying through your teeth. Nobody would be that stupid. Especially not you.” Proton said with a smirk. “See, I know your type. Guys like you? They see one-of-a-kind information and it’s their first reaction to snatch it like a pack Rattata and hide it away. Protect it.”

Maxie glared at him. But he was right. As much as he’d wanted to dispose of that stuff, as amazing as it would have felt to see every last article, data sheet, crumpled document go up in flames, he couldn’t bring himself to dump it. He didn’t know if it what he had was the only legitimate copy of the documents. Some of the material was far too precious, held way too much valuable data. He couldn’t take that risk.

And now here he was in trouble all over again because of it.

“And if I  _do_  have it?” Maxie said. “What then?”

“That’s more like it!”

Proton waved a hand. A lavender-haired girl in a Team Rocket uniform appeared from behind him. She had a rounded hat, similar to the one that Archie used to wear, that partially obscured her hair. Maxie wasn’t really sure what to make of her. Especially considering that she hardly looked old enough to be an adult.

“A little introduction is in order! This is Courtney.” Proton said, patting said person on the shoulder. Courtney gave him a look. Proton didn’t seem to notice. “She’s going to be your partner for this mission. I would’ve gotten you the bulging muscle type but I didn’t want you fucking around and then running off into the sunset like a pair of Luvdisc like last time.”

Maxie rolled his eyes. “How unfortunate for me.”

“We picked up some information from a reliable source that the Old Sea Chart was last seen in Hoenn.” Proton said. “You remember that, don’t you?”

Maxie did remember it, vaguely. It was a rumor that had come up in some of the older material. Something about an island populated exclusively by the Pokemon Mew, and something which he didn’t find it important to spend too much time looking into.

“I’m familiar with the legend.”

“It’s no legend, Red. This is legit. The report’s old as balls but the source is apparently still living around here somewhere. It’s your job to find him and get it.”

“No.”

Proton arched an eyebrow.

“ _No_?”

“I came out here because you threatened to invade my home. But I’m not here to do any more business for you.” Maxie said.

Proton narrowed his eyes. “You seem to forget that you don’t just up and leave Team Rocket. Once a Rocket, always a Rocket.” he said.

“Giovanni--”

“--Was a _setback_. All that shit he said about ending us? That was just talk.” Proton said. “He’ll come around once we tell him all about what we have planned. Our big revival’s just around the corner, Red, and Mew’s going to be at the head of it!”

Proton circled around him slowly, deceivingly, like a Sharpedo stalking its prey. But Maxie held his ground, simply watching him as he moved. Courtney, meanwhile, was watching the interaction with interest.

“It’s funny,” Proton said with a smile, “how you don’t think we have men everywhere. That you think you shouldn’t be afraid of me just because you think you’ve reached some kind of safe haven. Hoenn prides itself on controlling gang violence, putting the hammer down on trouble...and yet us Rockets run rampant.” he laughed. “I got into this useless dump so fucking easily and nobody was the wiser.”

Maxie tried to say something, but Proton cut him off.

“You think you’re safe here, huh? Snug as a little Sewaddle with your arm candy by your side? Please.” Proton shook his head. “You have no idea how many people we might have in this city alone. Behind every building and on every street corner, in disguise, not in disguise. And who’s to say I myself won’t be keeping an eye on you?”

“I’m surprised to hear that one man is worth so much effort, Proton.” Maxie said. “Your mission in Johto seems to take precedent over this ‘useless dump’, as you said. Why not find some impressionable soul to do your dirty work?” He gestured to Courtney. “Clearly there is an abundance of them willing to do these things for you.”

“Oh, I’m plenty proud of our Rocket youth.” Proton said. “I used to be one of them myself. But as great as they are, it’s hard to replace our oldies like you. They don’t have anything we can hold behind their backs...” He eyed Maxie. “...not like you do.”

“If you think you can continue to hold Archie’s life over my head like that--!”

“Who said anything about Archie?” Proton said. “I’ll bet Slateport’s police force would just love to hear about the two ex-Rockets living in the suburbs, waiting to steal Pokemon, disturb the peace, harass the children, and cause all kinds of mayhem. All it takes is a little search warrant, a few names getting dropped...So much for a happy life by the sea, eh?”

“We can leave.”

“Like you did last time? Because that clearly worked out the best for you!” Proton said. “I knew where you’d go then, who says I can’t just follow your tracks a second time?” He tapped his lips. “Can’t imagine what might happen if you try fleeing from me a second time, though. I really lost my patience with you back then. You know how much I don’t like waiting.”

Proton produced a Pokeball from his belt, and tossed it into the air. From it came one of the standard Rocket-issued Pokemon; a Weezing. But unlike the many dozens of Koffing and the few other Weezing Maxie had seen in his time, Weezing had less of a nonchalant look and more of a violent one. He vaguely wondered if Proton had agitated the thing prior to their meeting.

“This is Weezing.” Proton said, gesturing to the Pokemon. “It doesn’t much like waiting either. It’s kinda like me that way! But while I hold out from doing anything out of the goodness of my heart, it likes to get right to the chase.” Both of Weezing’s heads let out a low, almost synthetic sounding growl. “Wouldn’t it be a shame to for it to blow its top and for me to send you home to dear sweet Archie as scraps in a box?”

Maxie visibly bristled. The idea wasn’t exactly pleasant. He knew that Proton wouldn’t be so bold as to order the Pokemon to self destruct in the open air, where hundreds of people would hear the explosion, but there were plenty of sneakier opportunities. His house, the basement, hell, he could fill the place with gas and then light it up.

But Maxie wasn’t prepared to give up just yet.

“I see you’ve become bored of the small knife threats.”

Proton laughed.

“You’ve changed, Red. I like this new you. He’s got guts, I’ll give him that.” he said. “But if you’re going to fuck around with me, I’m going to fuck with you right back. Remember that when you’re looking for my map.”

He snapped his fingers.

“Lights out!”

From Weezing’s mouth came a steady stream of dark, poisonous gas that covered the area around them quickly. The Wingull on the lamp posts cawed and scattered. Maxie covered his eyes from the fumes and choked when he inhaled them. He could hear Courtney coughing as well, but couldn’t tell where Proton was.

Somewhere in the darkness he heard someone move swiftly, and he was met by the green-haired man a moment later up close and personal. He held up two fingers.

“You have two weeks.” he said. “Two weeks and then I’m collecting, Mew or no Mew. I’m sick and tired of playing these fucking games with you.”

And then he was gone.

The smoke cleared slowly, leaving Maxie’s eyes watery and vision blurred. Proton had left a coughing Courtney behind who seemed to have been just as unprepared for that event as he was. There was no sign that Proton had even been there. Maxie vaguely wondered how he’d gotten away so face, or where he’d gone to hide.

His face stung. Maxie touched a hand to his cheek and he pulled it away immediately. Blood. Plenty of it. He groaned. One last laugh from Proton, no doubt. He was going to have one hell of a time explaining that one to Archie.

Courtney looked at him. He glanced at her. What was he supposed to do with this kid, anyway? Was she there to check on him? Would she be showing up at his house? When she approached, he narrowed his eyes.

“...Hm. ♪” she said. “What do we do first, boss? ♪”

“Don’t call me that.”

 

* * *

 

 

The basement light flickered on. Maxie slowly descended the wooden steps leading into it. Though the basement had once been barren, it was now filled with boxes, old furniture, and, of course, the glassy-eyed fish trophies that he hated so very much.

There was also a box, a very carefully hidden box, full of their old Team Rocket things. Maxie had buried that somewhere deep in the back. They needed to be careful in case someone found their old uniforms. But, as it was, Maxie was regretting the decision a bit. Some of the things covering it were far too heavy for him to lift.

He weaved through some of the stacks, passing ones labeled “extra table settings”, “old toys”, and even a set of folded chairs that Maxie didn’t remember putting down there. Once he was in the corner furthest from the door, he began moving the smaller boxes.

“Of course I was stupid enough to keep that information.” he muttered. “Of course I didn’t simply throw it away without a second thought. I simply had to keep it.” He hefted an unlabeled box of something heavy onto another stack of boxes beside him. “I should have burned it and dumped the ashes at his feet!”

But that would have been asking for it, wouldn’t it?

Slowly but surely, the box of their old Team Rocket things made its way into the light from underneath several elongated boxes which he had to duck under. It was unmarked and sealed with at least three layers of tape. Maxie pulled out a pair of scissors from his pocket and sliced through the tape.

He made a face at it as he popped open the flaps. The worn black uniforms were folded neatly inside out and upside down to hide the glaring red “R”. Not that it did much good. The way the insignia was printed on the fabric, the mark bled right through. Maxie set them aside.

The documents underneath it were lined up neatly and orderly just as Maxie had left them. Each one had been color coded depending on the type of documents inside. Green folder, that one had sightings. Blue folder, no, that was for theories. He didn’t need that. Yellow was for amateur sightings, reports from the public. Red folder. He picked up the red one and opened it.

“...Let’s see...” Maxie said while picking through the documents. A taped and paperclipped document was resting at the very top. “Ah...here it is. Faraway Island.”

Handling it delicately, he flipped through the pages. It was an old document, from what he could tell it had been typed on a typewriter. It was also covered from start to finish in someone’s handwritten cursive notes in what looked to be ballpoint pen, but he couldn’t make out exactly what they said. Whoever had written it had terrible handwriting.

“Clearly this person never intended to let this be read by another person.” he muttered, staring at the glorified scribbles on the pages. “...Ah.” He stopped on page four of the document where there was a brief notation written toward the bottom of the page. “...I would like to express my...thanks? To the man who owned the map…Mister...” he squinted. “What on earth does this say?”

“Max? Ya down there?”

Maxie jolted up and hit the long, narrow box above him. He hissed and rubbed his head. “ _Yes_ , Archie.” he growled, glaring at the offending box. “The light wouldn’t be on if I wasn’t.”

He heard the sound of heavy footfalls against wood. Maxie placed the file on Faraway Island back into the box and moved to drop the Team Rocket uniforms over the contents. When Archie appeared around the bend, he grabbed for the Groudon folder and tucked it under his arm.

“So I was--Whoa.” Archie said, doing a double take when he caught sight of Maxie’s face. He put a hand to his own cheek as he stared at Maxie, who felt rather self conscious at that moment. “What the hell happened to yer face, Max?”

“I...er.” Maxie covered the sizable bandage with his right hand. “ I cut myself.”

“Doin’ what, swordfighting?”

“...Shaving.”

A look of complete and utter disbelief crossed Archie’s features. “Really.”

“Yes. Leave it alone.”

“What’re ya doin’ down here anyway?” Archie said. He looked past Maxie at the contents of the box and frowned. “S’that our old Team Rocket stuff?”

“Er...yes.” Maxie said. “Yes it is. I was upstairs looking for this,” he pointed to the Groudon folder, “when I remembered that I put it down here with the rest of our old things.”

“Huh.” Archie didn’t take his eyes off the box. “D’ya...really think it’s a good idea that we still have this stuff? It might’ve been a better idea to get rid of it.”

Maxie looked at the box. “As enjoyable as it would have been to see these things in a dumpster, it would be careless of us to do so.” he said. “Anyone might find them and put our situation here at risk.”

Archie nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’s a good point.” he said.

Giving the box one last side-eyed glance, Maxie reached out and pushed Archie back where he came. “Let’s get out of this musty old basement, shall we?” he said. “And what was it you were saying? You were looking for me?”

“Oh! Right, yeah, I was thinking.” Archie stopped when they reached the boxes of fish trophies. “S’been awhile since we went out together, right? Like, on an actual ‘it’s a date’ kind of thing?”

“We went out for dinner a few nights ago, I believe.”

Archie rolled his eyes. “We went out for takeout, Max. That doesn’t count.” he said. “I’ve got something else in mind than dinner.”

Archie dug around in his pocket and produced two ferry tickets. Maxie raised an eyebrow. Didn’t Archie know better than to take him anywhere on a boat? His intimate relationship with the railing of the ferry that brought them to Hoenn should have sent a very clear message to him.

“I hope you didn’t invest any of our savings in, Arceus help me, a  _pleasure cruise_.”

Archie shook his head. “No, no, these are just ferry tickets to Dewford, Max.” he said. “Neither of us have a reliable Surfin’ Pokemon, so it’s the next best way to get there.” He nudged Maxie. “Remember? I was gonna show ya Granite Cave.”

Maxie did remember something to that effect. Yet he’d forgotten all about the artwork in the cave system in Dewford. He looked down at the folder in his hands and then opened it. A poor quality picture of the cave art was paperclipped to a stack of typewriter-printed documents. He wanted to see the artwork in person back when he started the Mew research project, but he’d forgotten all about the existence of that cave in the excitement and barely controlled chaos that was moving across regions.

And yet, there were indeed more pressing matters at hand...

He looked up at Archie, who was beaming, clearly proud of having acquired tickets to something Maxie wanted to do after far too long of the mindless nothing that was their lives at this time. Could he really say no to that face? He didn’t want to.

“I suppose one more ride on a boat won’t kill me if the end result is worth it.”

“Great!” Archie said, smiling widely. “Is this weekend fine with you? Ya didn’t make any other plans, right?”

“Ah….yes. Certainly.” Maxie nodded slowly. “This weekend is fine.”

With that, Archie headed for the stairs, presumably to make some calls and start packing. Maxie shook his head. The moment anything exciting happened, Archie became far too hasty for his own good. But a good distraction was just what they needed.

The thoughts of the Team Rocket box and Proton weighed on his mind. But Archie didn’t need to know about that. It would be over soon.

Right?


	12. Act III Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. An entire six months with no updates. I went through a lot in those six months; a nasty writer's block, a fandom change, one hell of a lot of improvement, and I even fell completely out of love with this story. But I'm back for now.
> 
> I can't promise regular updates anymore, not like how it used to be. I've got other things that I have to do that come way before this story (schoolwork and also freelancing), plus my preference of writing for One Piece, so you probably won't see too much of me. But I have this story written in pieces all the way up to the ending. There's enough for me to finish it, and I plan to.

They should take a tour of the cave, Archie said. It would be fun, he said.

Only twenty minutes into their tour and Maxie was already regretting it. The tour was comprised of at least two dozen tourists, people completely new to Hoenn with rather thick accents who insisted on taking pictures of literally everything and anything.

The man, or should he say young man, leading the group was sweating up a storm and looked as if this was his very first day on the job. Maxie was getting tired of hearing him list facts and figures about the site that were blatantly incorrect–it wasn’t paint, but charcoal and red ochre. The method of applying it was different. It wasn’t hundreds but instead thousands of years old. He even believed that Granite Cave was actually made completely out of granite.

Not that anyone other than him seemed to realize this. Everyone else was chattering on excitedly about each and every detail, or they were busy keeping their children from scaling the cheap guard rails to touch the artwork.

Maxie squeezed the rolled up brochure in his hands and tried not to complain. But it was difficult. So unbearably difficult.

“Unfortunately the main paintings are sealed off for restoration,” the guide said, which earned him a chorus of disappointed groans. “The main attraction features a Groundon–”

“ _Grou_ don.”

“Lay off, Max. He’s trying his best,” Archie said.

Maxie shook his head. “That does not change the fact that _every single thing_ that has come out of his mouth is factually incorrect,” Maxie said. “This is not even my field of study and _I_ could lead this tour better than he could.”

Archie shushed him again and Maxie crossed his arms. The irritating guide ushered them down and up to the point where the restoration began. Stretching from wall to wall were little charcoal figures; Pokemon, humans, unintelligible scribbles, handprints, and others. The cavern that held the most important paintings was just beyond that point. A crudely written sign that read “DO NOT ENTER” blocked the entire passageway. Maxie hummed in annoyance.

“The one weekend we plan a date and the most important part of the cave is closed for restorations,” he muttered. Archie gave him a sympathetic smile. “We should have looked it up beforehand.”

“Well, look at it this way,” Archie said. “This just gives us th’ opportunity to come back again, right?” Maxie gave him a look. “Right. Hey, at least we’ll have time to do somethin’ else too, right? I was thinkin’ that we could head over to Sea Mauville…”

Archie’s chatter intermingled with the guide’s stupid chatter and Maxie found that he was more bored than ever. He directed his attention to the walls, adjusted his glasses, and examined the figures. A number of them were crude images, stick Pokemon-esque creatures with thin bodies, long necks, and legs all drawn on one side. On some, there were human riders perched atop the Pokemon. Maxie recognised the images from a book he’d read once before, but couldn’t remember all of the details of the theories.

He strayed away from the group, unnoticed by the guide, to look at the other figures. More stick people, more Pokemon. He eyed the lights installed in the ceiling with a bit of distaste; the lighting wasn’t particularly good for the artwork, and the large guided tour groups didn’t help either. Not to mention, on most days trainers were allowed to simply come to and fro…should anything happen to the artwork it would be quite difficult to put the blame on anyone…

“Max, what the hell’re ya doing?” Maxie turned to see Archie running up to him. “We’re not supposed t’ wander off from the rest of the group.”

“Nobody will notice,” Maxie said, looking back at the cave walls. “There are so many people in the group, what’s two people gone missing…” He nodded in the direction of the cave entrance. “Not to mention, it’s not particularly hard to find your way out of this cave.”

“That’s not the point,” Archie said, shaking his head.

Maxie ignored Archie in favor of wandering off further into the cave–which wasn’t much further, if he was honest. He knew that the cave was much larger than it seemed, but most parts of it were inaccessible to anyone without the proper equipment and any other parts were blocked off by, quite frankly, awful guide rails. He tentatively reached out and wobbled one a bit. It wasn’t much separating him from the wall. If he really wanted, he could touch it.

“When this cave was first discovered, there were quite a few fossils in here,” Maxie said. “Of course they’ve since been removed to be displayed in museums around the world, but they were in great quantities.”

“It’s likely that Granite Cave was at one point in time a sea cave, which is to say that it was formed by erosion and was filled by water.” He reached down and picked up one of many of the rocks lying at his feet. “I would say this cave is mostly limestone. Not _granite_.”

Archie rolled his eyes. “Not everyone’s a geology major, Max. Give the poor kid a break.”

“Yes, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s had _some_ sort of education in this cave’s most basic facts,” Maxie said. He listened to the quiet echos of the tour guide as he continued to narrate the scenes in the artwork and story of the cave without much in the way of factual evidence. “Which he clearly hasn’t been paying much attention to.”

Maxie glanced over at one of the poorly blocked off passageways leading lower into the cave. A light flashed from further inside it, making him do a double take. He stepped closer to it and squinted at the entrance in an attempt to see what was down there. It wasn’t lit artificially, making it impossible to see clearly. If he really wanted to know, he’d have to look for himself. And, certainly, the present company wasn’t so enjoyable…

He moved the guardrail with relative ease, stepped behind it, and replaced it. Archie was watching him with wide eyes.

“Are ya nuts?!” Archie hissed. “We’re not supposed to go down there!”

“Where’s your sense of adventure, Archie?” Maxie sneered. “Not up for a little spelunking?” Archie’s eyebrows furrowed and he frowned at Maxie, who shrugged. “If you’d like to wait here and cover for me, then be my guest.”

He turned away from Archie and took several steps into the little narrow passageway. Within seconds, he could hear the unmistakable sound of Archie not so gracefully tripping over the guardrail and stumbling in after him. Archie bumped into him lightly and Maxie let out a grunt. He looked back at Archie, who pouted.

“I’m just–The only reason I’m comin’ is t’ keep an eye on ya,” Archie said. “In case you get into any trouble.”

Maxie chuckled. “Your company is appreciated,” he said.

He pulled out a flashlight from his pocket and clicked it on. It illuminated the cave around them. Archie made another face, which prompted Maxie to raise an eyebrow at him.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were plannin’ this from the beginning,” Archie said.

“You learn from your mistakes, and what I’ve learned from being inside of caves is that it’s always a good idea to have a flashlight,” Maxie replied, continuing on his way. He waved the flashlight back and forth. Something in the darkness skittered away. “I wasn’t completely sure how well Granite Cave would be lit. It appears that only that part of the cave has built-in lighting.”

As they walked along, the ceiling of the cave dripped water down on them. Maxie flinched whenever a cold droplet hit his neck. Despite being so close to civilization, the cave was delightfully natural, mostly unaffected by humans. The native Pokemon were also much weaker than, say, Cerulean Cave, which made it an excellent place for exploring. It was no wonder that trainers came and went so often.

“It’s real dark in here,” Archie said. “It almost makes Flash seem like a useful technique.”

“Don’t say ridiculous things like that,” Maxie said.

The flash of light came again, making Maxie stop in his tracks. Archie bumped into him lightly. But before he could comment about Maxie suddenly stopping, Maxie shushed him. The little light flickered, but didn’t disappear. Slowly, he walked forward, trying not to make a sound which, given the damp, echoey nature of the cave was fairly difficult. His shoes were soaked now from the puddles on the cave floor.

Something at the other end of the tunnel made a shrill noise; a Pokemon cry. Whatever was making that light, it wasn’t human. The light soon disappeared again, and Maxie picked up the pace.

“Hey!” Archie called out. “Hey, hold up a sec’! Where’re ya going?”

Maxie didn’t respond, caught up in the moment. The little passage became more narrow, more slippery, but also gradually grew lighter as he raced through it. Maxie soon discovered that he could see his shoes again. Soon enough, the passageway lead to a clearing. Maxie stopped yet again. A hole in the ceiling of the cave allowed natural light inside, providing enough to see the surroundings. It wasn’t a particularly interesting area, not to the average person, but Maxie was immediately intrigued by the collection of rocks piled in this cavern.

The walls were lined with pictures, too, just as the main part of the cave was. However, they were also quite different; notably, they were faded with age and most of the charcoal had since disappeared. Maxie’s shoulders slumped. What a shame.

Archie came out of the cave after him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Geez, Max, don’t run off on me like that,” he said, exasperated. “What if ya got stuck ‘r something?”

“Honestly, Archie, I’m not incompetent,” Maxie said. “I can handle myself.”

Moving away from Archie, he stepped over some rocks and debris that had most likely fallen in from above. He studied the walls; he was no expert, but they looked to be about the same type of material as the cave art inside. The preservation was much different, however, and with so much of the fragile work exposed to the elements, it was no wonder that there were only fragments left.

He identified the same four-legged creatures, some with missing heads, legs, tails, and some that were only little etches in the rock. There were crude, half-erased depictions of dwellings, people, and handprints. But perhaps most importantly, there were depictions of a familiar shape.

“Archie?” Maxie said, gesturing for him to come over. Archie did. He pointed up at the half-faded picture on the wall. “Does this look like anything we’ve seen before?”

Archie squinted, trying to make out the details, before his eyes widened. “Yer kidding,” he said. “That’s Mew. Can’t be nothin’ else.”

The design on the fall featured a Pokemon with a small body and long tail. In places, one could still see the milky color still within the lines. The head of the Pokemon and two legs were missing, but enough of the outline was there to make it out. A wave of Deja-vu hit Maxie, and he scanned the rocky floor in front of him. He reached down and picked up a couple of the rocks. He frowned, tossed them aside, and searched for more.

“Maybe…just maybe…” he muttered as he searched. Archie eyed him carefully and stepped out of the way of any rocks he was throwing.

“Uh, Max?” he spoke up, unsure of what to say. “What’re ya…?”

“Aha!”

From one of the neatly stacked piles of rocks, Maxie pulled out a dirty round stone that just barely fit in the palm of his hand. He brushed off some of the dirt and plant matter and looked at it in the light. Archie looked over with him. It was hard to see as the rock was damaged, but part of its surface was smooth, glassy. A design was carved into it. Maxie recognised the material, from the way it felt and its weight, as ceramic.

“This should look familiar,” he said. “We’ve found one of these before.”

“Wait, hold up,” Archie said. “Yer sayin’ this is another one of those rocks, like the one we found back in Cerulean?” Maxie nodded. Hesitantly, Archie took the ceramic ball from Maxie and looked it over. “It’s been weathered quite a bit, probably knocked around and broken…”

“But you see the design, don’t you?” Maxie pointed to it; there was a little art featuring a Pokemon, one that Maxie didn’t recognise, but still a Pokemon nonetheless. “It’s just like the one we found. Of course it’s not exactly the same, but the fact still stands.”

“And this means…?”

Maxie smiled. “I suppose it confirms any theories about ancient Hoenn peoples trading with those from Kanto,” he said. He looked back at the art of Mew that had fallen into disrepair. “And that artwork of Mew…That’s quite a large drawing and too close to be an approximation…”

For a moment, Proton’s word’s echoed in his ears. Mew had no particular region to call its home, or at least it didn’t to anyone’s knowledge. But there were sightings in Hoenn. Could it be possible…? Was what Team Rocket believed more truth than fiction?

Unfortunately, Maxie’s assumptions would have to wait for another time. From the little cave that they had come through came a voice; one that he recognised as the guide’s. He sighed, irritated, and told Archie to replace the little ceramic ball back where they had found it, lest they get in trouble. The young man who lead the tour appeared a moment later, flashlight in his hand.

“U-Um, you’re not supposed to go off the designated path…” he said, panting. “Are you two alright?”

Archie and Maxie exchanged looks. “Uh…” Archie began, but Maxie cut him off.

“Yes, ah, we got a bit lost in the cave system,” he said. “One of the guide rails wasn’t fully covering this space and we thought it would be a part of the tour later…”

“Well then, follow me,” the guide said, gesturing for them to return through the cave. “We’ll continue the tour shortly.”

He started on his way, Maxie and Archie following after. Ah yes, Maxie thought, how he couldn’t wait for the mind-numbing tour to continue. When he wasn’t looking, Maxie gave the guide’s back a good glare, which earned him a jab in the side from Archie’s elbow. He hissed, and rubbed the spot. Archie gave him a look.

“It’ll only be for a while longer,” Archie said. “Then we’ll go do somethin’ that doesn’t require a tour guide, okay?”

Maxie wasn’t sure what to think about that, but he nodded regardless.

 

* * *

 

After taking a short ferry ride into the middle of the sea route between Dewford and Slateport, it soon became apparent what Archie had in mind for them; he was taking Maxie to Sea Mauville. Or, as Maxie had once referred to it, the Sea Dump.

Maxie’s first thoughts about Sea Mauville were probably not what Archie was expecting: It was little more than an above-ground landfill and an incredible waste of valuable materials. The entire structure could have easily been recycled into another facility. The metal was valuable, the machinery could have easily been salvaged, reused, remade into something more important, and there were plenty of useful things left sitting around.

However Archie, as usual, had more than enough to say about the benefits of leaving the place to nature. The mangrove trees, the complex reefs that had grown on and around the platform, and the various types of Pokemon that showed up. Nature had taken back the old research lab ruthlessly.

It would have been interesting to have seen the place in its prime. Maxie didn’t know entirely too much about it–the brochure he’d picked up on the boat spent entirely too much time talking about those damn trees–and wondered what sorts of research had been conducted.

“It just says ‘sea resource extraction’.” Maxie said, squinting at the tiny paragraph on the blue and white brochure. “I’m assuming that means oil? Certainly these pictures from its golden years seem to imply that. But it could also mean more delicate resources…” He looked up at Archie, who was peering over the side of the upturned vessel with a smile. “Archie?”

“Damn, I totally forgot about the view.” Archie said. “You can see straight on to Dewford from here!”

Maxie took a few careful, shaky steps closer to Archie, but not close enough to stand against the railing. The tilted nature of the structure was off-putting enough, Maxie didn’t want to endanger himself further by letting himself that near to the edge. He squinted off into the distance. A small, sandy island surrounded by boats was just barely visible. Dewford. The image of it alone was more exciting than it had been while they were there. Maxie wasn’t sure if he’d ever been to a smaller, quieter town.

Maxie turned his attention to the brochure again. “It says that this place closed because of the failure of New Mauville? That’s the, ah, underground power plant isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Pretty sure this place was really connected to it.” Archie rested his arms on the rail, which made Maxie uneasy. “I don’t really know what happened, I was just a little kid when it happened, but New Mauville suddenly shut down and this place went with it. Somethin’ about it affectin’ the Pokemon.”

“Considering how much resources they’d have to extract from the ocean to run a power plant of that size, I’m not surprised to hear that. I’m certain that the Pokemon living in the area in and around the plant would have been affected as well…” Maxie pursed his lips. “And yet it’s a shame they closed them down.”

Archie gave him a look. “Yer sayin’ they should’ve kept goin’ with this?”

“It was just fine that they shut it down, Archie, don’t get me wrong,” Maxie said. “But a facility like this…how many men and women must it have hired to keep operations going? How many people were fired on the day they announced that this place would be shut down for good? It’s not so easy to replace those jobs, you know.” He waved a hand. “And all of this…it certainly must have been ridiculously expensive to construct. Yet it lies in ruin now.”

“They _were_ goin’ to take it down,” Archie said. “But it makes a better habitat for Pokemon.”

It seemed almost like an excuse. From time to time Maxie would hear about an old ship being “retired” as a Pokemon reserve at the bottom of the sea. What of the oil, trapped in the tanks? What of the scattered hazardous things in the hull, the interior? Were those things extracted or left alone? He hummed. If this place had been an oil rig, it was possible that there was still hazardous waste, crude oil, oil byproducts…

“You’d think nature would do that job better than steel and plastic,” Maxie muttered, looking around himself.

Grass was growing up between the cracks of the tiles at his feet and vines twirled around the railing. The structure was being reclaimed by the surrounding plants slowly but surely. Archie picked up on this and grinned.

“Just goes to show ya, Max,” he said. “Nature’s more powerful than ya think.”

With that, Archie backed off from the railing and headed further into the structure, Maxie in tow. They passed by an attendant manning the doorway, the one who had given Maxie the brochure. He tipped her a little extra; standing out on a rickety old barge couldn’t have been an enjoyable job.

As they entered the innards of the old mining rig, the metal creaked underfoot and seemed to rock ever so slightly. Maxie wondered just how good of an idea it was to be walking on it, what with nature so determinedly trying to take it apart. He got his answer when a tile disappeared below his feet.

“Hwah–!” Maxie shouted as one of his legs disappeared through the square hole. Archie hurried to his side and helped him right out of it. “Arceus above, this place is a safety hazard!”

“Ya just gotta watch yer step.”

“I _was_.”

The corridors leading to the cabins were, surprisingly, full of people. Maxie had assumed Archie was planning on taking them to a quieter place for some exploration, but people were scurrying about in fairly large numbers. Children, adults, the elderly, it seemed like everyone was enjoying the eerie place. Why anyone would consider Sea Mauville a good, safe place to let their children explore, let alone themselves, Maxie had no idea.

A nice dinner after their tour would have sufficed, Maxie thought. Archie could have even picked a restaurant by the sea, gotten in his beach time. Or a quiet night in with some bad movie from Archie’s collection, a bowl of popcorn, and a nice, warm Numel on his lap. A walk in the park, a little late night shopping…No, no, Archie had to drag him out on a boat again and take him to this danger-prone scrapyard. That was just like him, after all.

“So, it says here that half of the rooms are underwater now,” Archie said, whipping out a brochure of his own. “And half of the ground level stuff’s locked.” He looked at Maxie with a smile. “Think we could snoop around and find us a couple keys for a private tour?”

Maxie huffed.

“I honestly doubt that. This place has been closed for over a decade, hasn’t it?” he said. “I’m sure tourists and researchers have long since found the keys. What are the odds that they’re even still here?”

“I think it’s worth a shot. ‘Sides, there’s supposed to be some treasures in here!”

Of course. Rickety old structure, buried treasure, secret rooms. One word about some probably fake golden treasure and Archie was begging to find it. Sea Mauville was perfect for adventure-seeking Archie. The inner pirate king was back for revenge, bandana, scars, and all.

Archie jiggled one of the doorknobs tentatively before realizing it was open and heading inside. Maxie sighed and followed along after him. The room was dark, as expected,and was filled full of papers, lockers, and a few misplaced items as all of the rooms did. The large groups of people were strangely absent from this fairly large, empty room.

Or, so it appeared. Maxie still couldn’t help feeling like _something_ was in the room, whether human or Pokemon or…something else he wasn’t sure. He held his arms.

“You should have let me head off to Dewford if you were so determined to search for treasure here.”

“Oh, c’mon Max. It’s not a date if you aren’t here with me!” Archie placed an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close. “Doesn’t it sound even a little bit romaaaantic? The salty sea air, the dark atmosphere, glittering golden treasure lying in wait somewhere…”

“I would have felt about the same sitting on our couch at home watching television.”

Archie shook his head. “Yer thinkin’ about this in the wrong way! Remember when we met?” he said. “It was in a dark place with hidden treasures lying around…there was water everywhere…”

“We also nearly died from an explosion and my hair smelled like it had been sprayed by a Stunky for weeks after that.”

“ _And_ we made out.”

Maxie looked thoughtful. “Alright, fair enough, that part wasn’t so bad,” he said.

Stepping around some broken glass and torn floor tiles, Maxie wandered through the room. There was a TV turned face-down on the floor, and the way the collapsing floor was disintegrating around it, he honestly wondered how there wasn’t a gaping hole where it was. The eerie feeling persisted and he swore that the room dropped in temperature. Archie was browsing through some fading paperwork.

“Funny how everyone just…dropped what they were doin’ and left. Some of this stuff seems real confidential,” Archie said. “Business records, personal pictures, letters…”

Maxie raised an eyebrow. “I thought this place had an adequate warning time before the employees were dismissed,” he said. “Why would they leave behind their personal items?”

“Dunno.”

Maxie hovered around Archie, peeking at the papers he was going through. There was a large collection of them strewn about. He picked up a messy batch of them covered in footprints; someone had been rather careless where they were stepping. The selection he had in his hands was a number of calculations, page after page of numbers–twelve in total, minus the first and thirteenth page. Without it, it was difficult to tell what they meant. He tucked them away in a locker that happened to be ajar.

A cold draft suddenly blew through the room and Maxie shivered. He frowned; had Archie been stupid enough to leave the door open? He glanced back and noticed that the door was shut. There were no windows.

Right, he thought. Now was a good time to leave the room.

“It’s kind of stuffy in here. I’m going to go get a bit of fresh air,” Maxie said to Archie.

“Alright!” Archie replied, not looking up from what appeared to be a series of letters. “I’ll join you in a second.”

Leaving Archie to his treasure hunting, Maxie quickly walked out of the uncomfortable room and into the hallway. A few of the visitors were wandering about, talking among themselves. A little girl in a tube ran by with her Pokemon, seeming enthralled with the way the rig tilted. Maxie ignored them all and walked back toward the exit.

The fresh, warm sea air helped him relax a little. The artificial darkness created by the rig’s interior felt too familiar, like being in the basement of Team Rocket again. Dark, dank, and cramped. He made his way over to the opposite side of the rig, the one closer to Slateport than Dewford.

Maxie leaned over the rail, which was a great deal sturdier than the other, and gazed out at the sea, at the rocky islands, the boats in the distance. He thought about their little excursion in Granite Cave, the cave he had been so excited to visit. He was still so disappointed that he had not gotten to see the artwork of Groudon in person. From what he had heard, it was very impressive, a beloved cultural sight.

Yet that artwork, hidden deep in the cave…that was the first that he’d heard of it, and Maxie wondered if it was in the process of being restored and released. Ot if it was being kept quiet for a reason. The discovery of that little sight would mean a lot of talking, stories being brought up, theories unearthed…and then there was Team Rocket, watching from their new base, wherever that was. Proton would _love_ to hear about it.

He rested his head on his hands. Two weeks. No, twelve days exactly to find that damned map. Today was technically no more than wasted time. Maxie wasn’t sure if Proton was counting the time but somehow he felt better safe than sorry.

Was it really right to keep everything from Archie? Was he really doing the right thing?

Strong arms wrapped around him from behind. Maxie tensed for a moment, prepared to push whoever it was away, before he realized that it was just Archie. He looked up. Archie was smiling down at him. Maxie relaxed in his grip.

“All finished with your treasure hunting?” he asked Archie.

“Yep! I’m all done now,” Archie said. He rested his head on Maxie’s. “Hey, uh…while I was in there, I was thinking. I know things haven’t exactly been perfect today, and I really wanted them to be…so, I’m sorry.”

Maxie looked back out to sea. Far in the distance, there was a sandbank, and attached to that sandbank was Slateport. Home. It looked smaller from here, less exciting than he knew it was. He smiled a little.

“Don’t apologize for that, you dumb oaf. Today was fine,” Maxie said, reaching up to touch Archie’s cheek. “Even if things weren’t perfect…I suppose, so long as we’re together, it’s alright. I had fun.”

He felt Archie kiss his hair, and he knew he’d said the right thing. He huffed. Archie always did mean well, didn’t he? Even with all his scatterbrained ideas, and half thought out plans, he never meant anything bad by it. Archie was so genuine, and, he figured, that was probably one of the things he liked most about him.

“…Hey, so,” Archie spoke up again, “I was thinking, maybe, I could do a little diving in here…This roughneck said something to me about this treasure buried in the depths of the rig, like dozens and dozens of gold Nuggets, and I–”

Now it was Maxie’s turn to elbow him.


	13. Act III Part V

Slateport. Mauville. Dewford. Petalburg. Maxie crossed off “Verdanturf” from the list as well. These were the closest cities to him, and none of them had any kind of information on the sea map. Mauville was the most disappointing of all. He’d hoped that there would at least be some resources from a library, some internet collection, or whatever. But now he’d have to start going further and further away. Archie would start to notice.

Rustboro was next on his list, which involved a too-long train ride and an investigation of Hoenn’s most well known company, Devon Corporation. Maxie was more familiar with their work in the geological sciences, with their vast collections of stones and new fossil resurrection technology, but there were plenty more projects that he knew they worked on; Pokenav was the main one, with a few others in development. They were also a core producer of Hoenn’s energy.

Their website posed an idea to him that, somewhere within their archives, they might have antiques like the map, or know someone with information on it. They were his next best hope. And, perhaps, also his last. But finding a time and date to make the trip would be tricky with the constant threat of Archie discovering him sneaking around.

The front door opened. Maxie’s back was to it. He heard Archie shuffle around and hurriedly take off his shoes. Maxie quickly hid his notes in between the couch cushions and was prepared to receive the daily “I’m home” ritual. If Archie was too distracted by hugging him and talking about the day, he wouldn’t suspect anything suspicious was going on.

But the usual attack never came.

Something was off.

“...Welcome home, Archie,” Maxie said slowly. He picked up the newspaper resting beside him and pretended to read the article on Slateport’s problematic Pelipper population. “You’re home later than I expected. I’m assuming work was hectic?”

“Uh-huh.”

“There’s, ah, some leftovers in the fridge from dinner. Which you missed. I ordered takeout.”

“Mhm.”

“Also, you got something in the mail today. I left it on the table for you.”

“‘Kay.”

More shuffling. More silence. Maxie lowered the paper. He got up from his seat and turned to face Archie. Arceus, Archie looked nervous. He raised his eyebrows.

“...Alright, Archie,” Maxie said, crossing his arms. “What’s going on here?”

“Huh? Me?” Archie looked shocked. He put a hand to his chest as if to plead innocence. “I have what? I don’t have anything.”

“Usually you come home and greet me with an obnoxiously loud ‘I’m hoooome!’, a bone-crushing Bewear hug, and a kiss. I have not gotten even one of these things,” Maxie said, using a gesture for emphasis. “Something’s wrong with this picture.”

Maxie looked him over carefully. Archie’s hands were behind his back. He was the picturesque “child who brought home a cute wild Pokemon”. Only Maxie knew that Archie’s idea of cute ranged from slobbering Mightyena to rough-skinned sharpedo. Maxie silently pleaded that there wasn’t something ridiculous like a Corphish hiding back there.

“Archie, what do you have?”

“Don’t know what yer talkin’ about. I don’t have anything,” Archie said with an awkward smile. “Yep! I’m gonna go check out that uh...” He backed off toward the kitchen. “The, uh, thing for me in the mail.”

“You’re a terrible liar,” Maxie deadpanned. “Show me what it is.”

Archie didn’t have time to reply before something wriggled out of his hands and onto the floor. A dark furry puppy Pokemon scampered away from him before Archie could make a move to grab it. Instead, it found Maxie, whose eyes widened when he saw it. A mild improvement to the Corphish Maxie predicted, and yet...

“Uh.” Archie laughed nervously. “Surprise?”

“You brought home a Poochyena? Why?” Maxie gave him a look. “One giant slobbering dog wasn’t enough for you?”

“But ya should’ve seen him, Maxie!” Archie said. “He was all cold and alone and scared. Arceus, I couldn’t just leave him like that!”

The Poochyena whined up at Maxie, wagging its tail back and forth while pawing at his socks. He sighed and picked it up.

“A wild Poochyena shouldn’t have too much trouble taking care of itself,” he said. “The city is a troublesome place for a Pokemon unused to it, but the route to the north is a well known Poochyena habitat. You could take him there.”

“But…” Archie looked at the Poochyena. It looked back at him and its tail wagged faster. “But look at ‘im, Maxie! He’s so cute--Can’t we keep him?”

“One dog is enough.”

“Please?”

Maxie sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Archie. I’m not trying to be an asshole, but I don’t think we need a second dog,” he said. “That Mightyena of yours provides enough waterworks for three dogs and I can’t convince you to put him away at night. The same thing’s going to happen with that Poochyena. And I’m heading back to work soon, who will train it?”

Archie looked away for a moment. The Poochyena let out a squeaky bark, oblivious to the situation at hand. Then, Archie perked right back up again.

“One night.” Archie pleaded. “He’ll stay for just one night and I’ll find him somewhere else to live, okay? I just don’t feel right throwin’ him back outside into the street.”

Maxie pressed his lips into a fine line. With the desperate face Archie was making, it was going to be difficult to send the Poochyena away now without seeming like he was the bad guy. He looked back down at the dog, which was circling around the base of his feet, tail wagging happily.

“One night only? He doesn’t stay?”

“Yep!”

“One night, and one night only. We’ll start putting up posters tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

 

One night turned into seven nights, which turned into a fortnight. The puppy began to sleep at the foot of their bed. Maxie wondered where he went wrong.

It was much harder to leave the house with Poochyena around, especially after it bonded with Maxie, who was inevitably the one who fed and walked it. He used to leave for the day with Courtney to spend time searching town after town’s database, but now he couldn’t very well leave the puppy at home to do as it pleased.

That was how he ended up traveling more at night. But, to avoid Archie’s suspicions, he ended up having to leave later and later. Which was this particular occasion.

It was a little past midnight. Archie was snoring in bed beside Maxie, who had been patiently waiting for an opportune moment to sneak out without Archie noticing. Luckily Archie was a heavy sleeper and getting ready without him waking up was fairly easy. Having prepared what he needed beforehand, he got dressed again and collected his bag. But before he left, he stopped by Archie’s side.

“I’ll be back soon,” he whispered, kissing Archie on the forehead. “I hope.”

He closed the door to the bedroom behind him and silently walked through the dark hallway leading to the front door. Mightyena was asleep on the couch and Numel was tucked into its bed on the living room floor. The Golbats were gone, as usual, on their evening flight around town. Nobody would see him leave.

Or so he thought.

Sitting on the floor right in front of the door with its tongue sticking out was the little Poochyena puppy. The moment it saw Maxie it wagged its little stump of a tail and let out a shrill whine. It thought Maxie was going for a walk. He shushed it.

“Shhh. Shhhh. I can’t take you with me,” he said. It bounced in circles around his feet. “No, no, go back to sleep--!”

It whined again. He heard Mightyena yawn behind him and he flinched. He didn’t need any other Pokemon notice him leave. If Mightyena woke up and thought they were going on a walk, oh, he’d run and jump on Archie--No, that was the worst possible thing.

He glared down at the Poochyena. It seemed to grin at him.

And that was how he met up with Courtney while carrying a squirming Poochyena under his arm. Though seeming curious about the situation, she didn’t seem to mind. They headed to the train station without another word, save for the little squeaks that the puppy occasionally let out. The man behind the counter didn’t seem to mind a loose Pokemon on the train--or, perhaps, more than likely he was too tired to care.

They picked a car that had a few people already sitting down. Two seats next to a drunken red-haired man in a straw hat were open. They settled down there and did their best to ignore his occasional bouts of giggling. Maxie hoped dearly that the train ride would be as short as possible.

“I never took you to be a dog person,” Courtney said.

“I’m not--ghhk!” The train jerked forward, and a paw pushed up against Maxie’s cheek as Poochyena scrambled to look over his shoulder. Its fluffy tail beat against his face as it happily watched things “I’m not. But I didn’t have a choice. He was threatening to wake the whole house up.”

“Mm. Whatever you say. ♪”

At that late hour the train happened to be rather empty. There were plenty of other drunks loitering about, some out cold in their seats, others dancing, laughing, or swaying back and forth. Maxie decided it best not to make eye contact with anyone. Mind his own business. Maybe none of them had motion sickness.

After a few men departed from their car, he looked to the red-haired man next to him and Courtney. He’d since passed out. Good. A perfect time to talk.

“Alright,” Maxie said. “Here’s the plan: I know that there will be people inside; guards, employees, whatever, so we need to be extra careful not to be seen. We’ll find a back entrance or something to go in, and then we’ll make our way to one of the storage rooms. There should be at least two on the second floor.”

“Mhm.”

“I’m assuming, if they have it, they’ll keep the map under tight lock and key. Perhaps we might expect a few difficult trainers as well. Something that valuable won’t be easy to just up and take.”

A man from the opposite side of the train suddenly burst out laughing. Both Maxie and Courtney turned to look at him. He was swinging his arms around with a tie around his head. Some of the other men were laughing with him. Another was on the floor. Maxie simply shook his head. This is why he never took the late night trains anywhere.

The Poochyena on his lap looked around the train car, watching the handles on the top sway slightly and tilting its head at the laughing men in the corner. It sniffed the air and tried to look out the windows again. The Hoenn countryside flew by quickly. Berry trees, numerous routes, and plenty of darkened residences could be seen.

Rustboro, as with any large city, could be seen easily at night. The glow from the city even when it was still miles away shone brightly. Maxie squinted. Devon was an older building, somewhere along the coastline. He couldn’t see it. Courtney tilted her head back and forth beside him. He watched her for a moment before saying anything again.

“Ah, Courtney,” he said, catching her attention. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“Hm~?”

“How did you get involved with...us?” Maxie said, being mindful not to out themselves. Even if everyone else in the room probably wouldn’t remember tonight, he wasn’t going to take that chance. “I know that they started seeking out younger recruits, but...you’re awfully young.”

Courtney shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea,” she said.

“...Do your parents know where you are?” Maxie asked quietly. “Do they know you’re alright?”

Again, she shrugged. Maxie frowned at her.

“Please take this seriously, Courtney. It’s very dangerous for you to be involved with...them like this. ”

Courtney didn’t respond. They spent the rest of the trip in relative silence, barring the irritating sounds coming from the drunk passengers. Upon arrival, they disembarked into an empty station filled with irritating white lights. Maxie hunched his shoulders and shuffled away from it quickly. The sooner they finished their business, the better.

It was only a short walk from the station to the Devon Corporation building. It loomed in front of them with an air of intimidation. The lights were on, even this late into the night. Maxie knew from experience that there were probably still some scientists in there hard at work on making their deadlines. He pressed his lips into a fine line as he recalled some...less than pleasant memories.

“Alright, Courtney. Now let’s stick to the plan.” he said. “We’ll go around to the back door and--” He turned to his side to see that Courtney wasn’t there. He looked around hurriedly. “Courtney? Where did you--?”

The sliding doors of the Devon building opened. Courtney walked inside casually. Maxie jolted and ran through them after her. He turned Courtney around and gave her a harsh look, knowing that scolding her would draw far too much attention. He glanced around them at the empty lobby. The attendant had gone home and the waiting room chairs were empty. The lights were dimmed to save on energy, but the artistic representations of fossil Pokemon were still well lit.

Outside of their footsteps and clothes rustling, the room was deathly quiet. Nobody had noticed them come in.

“Second floor.” Maxie whispered. “We’ll split up; you go to the left, I’ll go to the right.” Courtney moved to leave but he grabbed her arm. “And for Arceus’ sake don’t walk around out in the open.”

“Got it. ♪”

The second floor of Devon was more or less a floor of computers. There was a quiet hum of sleeping machines that filled the space. Maxie was careful not to make a sound as he wove through the cubicles and desks. The lights were on, but nobody was around. It was possible that they were on to keep people like him at bay.

There were a few separate rooms, but the fossil restoration lab was fairly obvious, with its stacks of books and sample fossils outside it. Maxie carefully lifted the counter flap covering the entryway and headed inside.

The lights in the room came on when he walked in. Six shelves with contents ranging from fossils of all shapes and sizes to old scrolls, posters in special white plastic containers, and cardboard boxes marked in languages that Maxie couldn’t read. He combed through the labels on each item, looking for anything relating to Mew or the map.

“Magma suit? C’mon Tabi,” someone said, “Is that really practical? I mean, when is anyone going to need a magma suit?”

“Like your idea is any better! Ahyahya…”

Maxie stiffened. There were other people here? The light on the far side of the room went on. He heard two distinct sets of footsteps walk in and head for one of the storage closets on the far side of the fossil gallery. Poochyena seemed to notice its master’s distress and walked over to him, wagging its tail. He reached out with his foot and nudged it closer before picking it up. It tried to lick his face, which he blocked with a hand.

The two Devon employees continued to chat with each other, seeming unaware of Maxie’s presence, but every time they moved Maxie felt himself go stiff and a new wave of nervousness washed over him. He held his arms to his sides and thanked Arceus that the shelving units were wide enough to obscure him from view.

“Hey, do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Maxie inhaled sharply. Poochyena looked up at him and he gently held its mouth shut.

“It sounds like there’s someone else here. Upstairs,” the woman said. “But...we’re the only ones here, right?”

They went quiet. Maxie held his breath.

“You’re probably hearing things, Shelly,” the man named Tabi said. “This place gets pretty spooky at night. Old floors, old vents...”

The muffled sounds of footsteps, light footsteps, came over Maxie’s head. The female worker left the room in a hurry. Maxie looked up. If the two Devon workers were right and they were alone, then those footsteps would be Courtney. He restrained the urge to sigh. And he’d tried to hard to tell her to be careful.

Poochyena whined softly, its gaze focused on something near the newcomers. Maxie looked down at it and then, sneakily, shifted to look past the shelves. There it was, a Skitty seated by the legs of the man sorting papers. It licked its paw and wiped its ears, not appearing to notice them. Its tail twitched and twitched again. Poochyena shook lightly, tail wagging, with a gleam in its eyes.

Maxie tried to increase his hold on it, but the moment the Skitty turned around it was all over. Poochyena leapt from his arms and onto the floor, yipping and barking as its nails scraped against the concrete floor.

Oh, no.

The sudden barking surprised the Devon employee into dropping the papers he was holding, resulting in a white flurry of paper in the air as he did a double take at Poochyena with a, “What the--?!”

Skitty’s fur stood up and it ran behind its master. This didn’t stop Poochyena, as it ran right around the man to get at it. The two Pokemon ran around, Skitty meowing angrily and Poochyena yipping and bouncing after it.

At some point, Poochyena grabbed a mouthful of Skitty’s tail. Skitty hissed and clawed Poochyena’s nose before jumping onto one of the shelves holding a series of maps, posters, and other things. Each rolled up item, when jostled, fell right off the shelf. As it ran along it, Poochyena watched it from the ground, barking and bouncing up and down.

“Skitty!” The Devon worker yelled, chasing after his Pokemon. “Stop that! Stop that right--Hwargh!”

When the man tried to grab his Pokemon, Poochyena lept onto his shoulders and used them as leverage to get onto the same shelf as Skitty. It scrambled over the rolls of paper, dislodging the rest of them, before it pounced on Skitty. The two Pokemon growled and hissed and toppled off of the shelf.

Maxie reacted without meaning to and caught them before they toppled onto the concrete. He separated the two of them, one in each hand. They hissed and clawed for a moment longer before they caught onto the situation.

The Devon employee looked at him.

Maxie looked back.

The Pokemon looked at Maxie.

“...Hey!” Tabi yelled. “You’re not supposed to be in here!”

Setting down the Skitty, Maxie made a run for the door. The Devon worker was shouting behind him, but thanks to the convenient dozens of priceless papers and artifacts on the floor, it was going to take a moment to figure out how to properly get to Maxie.

“You,” Maxie said to the Poochyena, who still had a tuft of Skitty’s pink fur in its mouth, “are an absolute menace of a Pokemon.”

It barked at him, not seeming to understand why its master was upset.  

Maxie zig-zagged through the computer stations, headed for the stairs. But before he reached them he halted. He’d forgotten Courtney. Who was upstairs. Where that other employee had gone.

And she’d definitely be--!

She might have already--!

“Dammit!”

He turned around sharply and went back the way he came, heading for the other set of stairs.

The upper floor was significantly darker than the first and second floors, with only a couple of lights on. Maxie had told Courtney to stay on the second floor, there was nothing they needed on the third, but clearly she must have gotten some idea into her head. Looking around, he didn’t see Courtney, or the other woman for that matter. The darkness obscured everything from view.

“Come on, Courtney…” he muttered. “We don’t have time for this.”

Poochyena sniffed the air and then barked. Maxie followed its gaze. Someone was wandering around in the dark. He hunkered down, using a nearby desk as cover. The shape was too vague to tell who it was exactly, or even make a guess. He squinted. Maybe there were more employees hiding in the dark.

Once the person shuffled by, he tip-toed around the room, trying to be mindful of the various small things he couldn’t see. Like trash cans. His foot caught the side of a heavy metal trash can and he had to hold his mouth to keep from yelling. Arceus damn the whole lot of trash cans. He glared down at it. It was empty. How in the world was it still that heavy?

A door opened. He went still. Footsteps. They came closer, closer...he looked around for the source.

Something tapped him from behind.

“Boss. ♪”

Maxie yelped and turned around to face Courtney, whose face was only just barely visible. He shushed her and then looked around again.

“What the hell are you doing up here?” Maxie hissed under his breath. “We need to get out of here right now, there’s still employees in the building.”

Once he was sure there was nobody else around, he grabbed Courtney’s sleeve and headed back for where the stairs were. Or where he thought they were. The furniture was obscuring them from view, so it was hard to pinpoint exactly where they needed to go. He marched ahead in no particular direction.

Seconds later, they ran into another vague shape. It was large and soft and definitely was not a trash can. Maxie froze instantly.

Someone clicked on a flashlight, revealing all three of their faces.

“AAAHHHHH!” Maxie and Shelly screamed in unison.

The flashlight was dropped in the panic, allowing Maxie and Courtney to make a beeline for the stairs. By some miracle they narrowly avoided the other employee, who was yelling from the room on the second floor about the mess, and got out through the door. Maxie didn’t even turn around to see if either of them were hot on his trail.

It was probably suspicious for them to be running through the streets like a Pokemon had set them on fire, but Maxie was much more concerned with not being arrested to care. They ducked down an alleyway, where Maxie, who was absolutely not an athlete, took a moment to catch his breath.

“Was there even a point to going in there?” He growled. “I didn’t find anything!”

Maxie groaned loudly and dragged his hands down his face. The whole trip had been for nothing. He’d wasted his time running out in the middle of the night. And as far as he knew, Archie might have gotten up to get a glass of water and was now freaking out because he wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Arceus. He was so ready to go to bed.

 

* * *

 

 

Deep in the downtown area of Rustboro, Maxie was lamenting their complete and utter failure with a few drinks. Having missed the next train home, and with the next train being another hour at least, he almost wondered if he should find himself a damn hotel to pass out in. He spent most of the time with his head resting against the table.

“That was it. The Devon lab was my last hope,” Maxie said with a sigh.

“Mm. ♪” Courtney pet the Poochyena in her lap. Maxie had entrusted her with it after having more than enough of its antics “Are you giving up?”

Maxie lifted his head. “What choice do I have? That was our last real lead. The last real eyewitness was last seen in Rustboro’s Devon Corporation,” he said. “But Proton won’t listen to that. No, no, if I give up now he’ll hunt me down...hunt us down...and Archie...”

“Archie?”

He shook his head. “I can’t think about that right now. I need to focus.”

He swirled his drink around in the glass. Hoenn wasn’t exactly known for Mew sightings either. Only a small handful of supposed sightings had been reported by sailors while out at sea, but the exact location and time was never properly recorded. It was entirely possible as well that what they had seen was not a Mew.

“If the map isn’t with the people of Devon labs,” Maxie muttered to himself, “then who else might have it? In this day and age it could be anywhere.”

“Could be on a wall,” Courtney added.

“Also possible. Someone might not even realize what they have and put the thing in a picture frame,” he said. “Can you imagine? We’d have to go breaking into houses….Arceus, Archie would skin me if I got arrested for that.”

“Boss.”

“Then again, it’s equally possible that the Devon Corporation stashed it away in a storage unit or has it out on some art tour…”

“ _Boss._ ”

“What?”

Courtney turned to her left, and he followed her gaze. It took him a moment to find what she was looking at; a framed piece of art on the wall that looked suspiciously like a map. He stood up. It was so well molded into the background, blending in with the light wood around it and partially obscured by the other people in the bar, that he might have never noticed it. It had been carefully pinned on a harder support, as the map itself seemed to be made out of calfskin, and was trimmed with a very old, gilded wood frame.

One glance at it told Maxie that this was not the map they were seeking. Faraway Island was said to be mostly jungle with plenty of rocky outcroppings. This island was larger and contained detailed artwork of waterfalls and well worn trails. Two creatures, one in red and the other in blue, were scribbled into the margins in between the carefully drawn weaving longitude lines.

“This map is missing its latitude lines,” Maxie said. “That’s how you can tell its age. I’m no expert, but I’d date this one at least back to...”

He looked at Courtney. She wasn’t looking at him, instead watching an older man with a Wingull on his shoulder as he downed part of a beer.

“Courtney? Are you listening?”

“Mm. ♪”

“Right. Well,” Maxie continued, “in theory, the map we’re looking for should be the same or at least similar. It’s entirely possible that the maps were made at similar times by similar people as well. Perhaps if we knew where this one came from, we could--”

“You kids lookin’ for an adventure?”

Maxie turned around once more. The old man and his Wingull was grinning at him mischievously. Maxie opened his mouth, closed it again, and then put the tips of his fingers together. It was hard to tell if this older gentleman was drunk or not and he wasn’t sure whether it would be a good idea to indulge him in their plans.

“I...er, that’s one way to put it,” Maxie muttered. “I don’t suppose you, of all people, have some aged map in your back pocket that goes to a place called Faraway Island?”

The old man looked pensive for a moment. He stroked his beard and hummed.

“Been a long, long time since I heard that name,” he said with a chuckle. “Either you two are enthusiasts lookin’ for an out of the ordinary joy ride, or there’s more to ya than meets the eye.”

Maxie wasn’t sure how to answer him. The old man got up from his seat and walked over to them, his bird squawking a bit as he did.

“The name’s Briney,” he said. “Perhaps we should talk about this somewhere more private.”

 

* * *

 

Mr. Briney’s house was small but homely. It reminded Maxie of his and Archie’s home with all of its decorative knickknacks and aging photographs. However this home had a much older feel to it and was very traditional to old Hoenn style. A little sunken table was situated around the television with a few cushions placed around it. At his insistence, Maxie and Courtney made themselves at home on them.

But Maxie’s eyes were focused on the map framed and hung carefully on the wall in the mass of photographs.

From the information he had gathered, he had assumed it was made out of parchment paper. But a closer look at the way it was held in the frame revealed that it was instead made of the skin of an animal just like the one he’d seen in the bar. The latitude lines were also notably missing from it.

Something so valuable was so easy for someone to take. He wondered to himself why nobody had tried to steal it before now.

“So,” Mr. Briney said, placing down an antique tea set on the table. “You folks are interested in that little old map of mine, are you?”

“Yes,” Maxie said, reaching to take one of the hot cups of tea. “It’s a map to the location of Faraway Island, am I correct? Where did you acquire it?”

“I won it,” Mr. Briney said. “Years and years ago, I challenged one of my old traveling companions to a match. He didn’t have a cent to his name back then, so I asked for that map. Told me to take good care of it since it was an heirloom.” He looked at the frame. “Took me one hell of a long time to find the place, though.”

“You’ve...you’ve been to the island?”

“Just once. It was an awfully long time ago.”

“Could you, perhaps, do it again?” Maxie asked.

Mr. Briney eyed him with a peculiar look, as if he was sizing him up. “What’s yer game, anyhow?” He asked. “Why do you need to go to this island in particular?”

“If I went into the specifics, we’d be here all night,” Maxie said. He eyed the tea in his hands. Suddenly, he wasn’t much in the mood, and he set it back down. “It’s urgent that we get there, and there’s so much at stake if I cannot find it.” He gave Mr. Briney his best sincere look. “Please. We’ll cause no trouble.”

For a while, Mr. Briney went into deep thought. He walked across the room, taking slow and steady steps until he was face-to-face with the framed map on the wall. He stared at it for ages.

Courtney released the Poochyena puppy from her grip and it bounded over to him. Maxie inhaled sharply, fully expecting his Pokemon to bite at him or cause more trouble. But he simply sat at Mr. Briney’s feet obediently. Said person reached down to pat his head.

“I suppose a trip to sea would do this old man some good,” Mr. Briney said, barking out a laugh. “Been quite a long time since I had passengers of any sort. Livin’ out here in the countryside has its perks, but it’s not every day that someone needs to go out on an adventure.” He turned around to give Maxie a wide, toothy grin. “Why not?”

Maxie blinked. He hadn’t...expected it to be that easy, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain. Mr. Briney returned to the table and sat down alongside them and began to discuss possible times to make the trip. The puppy crawled into Maxie’s lap and, worn out from the exciting day, fell asleep rather quickly.

A trip out on the open sea. Archie was going to envy him tremendously.


	14. Act III Part VI

Every single light was on in the house.

Maxie anxiously stared at it, trying to decide what the best plan of action was. Well. There was no way that Archie wasn’t awake at this point. And he’d probably immediately noticed the cold spot in the bed. He hadn’t….meant to be gone for as long as he had, but it was beyond his control. Plus, he had to make sure Courtney was staying somewhere safe.

Poochyena had long since passed out in his arms and he was beginning to grow very tired from carrying him around. He sorely regretted not having finally broken down and admitted that the dog was a permanent resident of the Aogiri household. Maybe tomorrow he’d find it a suitable Poke Ball from the market in town. For now, the only thing on his mind was going back to bed.

Said bed was on the other side of a rampaging Machamp known as Archie.

If he didn’t face Archie now, he’d just have to deal with a twice as pissed Archie later, who would definitely chew him out two fold. With a deep breath, he marched up to their front door, and opened it.

Archie, who had been sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, immediately looked up.

“Maxie!” Archie rushed at him and grabbed his shoulders. His face was stricken with worry. “Where the  _ hell _ have ya been?”

“I was…” 

Maxie didn’t have any good excuses. He’d been gone for hours now. What could he possibly have been doing for that long in the dead of night? He looked down at the Poochyena, who was asleep in his arms.

“I was...walking the dog,” he muttered, looking away.

Archie stared at him for a very long moment. Then he crossed his arms.

“For two hours.”

“Yes.”

Archie sighed and shook his head. “Maxie, why the hell are ya pullin’ these kinds of excuses with me?” He asked. “It’s the middle of the night. Nobody walks their dog at two in the fuckin’ morning.”

Maxie didn’t know how to respond. He determinedly stared down at the floor.

“Arceus,” Archie said. “I was about to call the police, Max.” He lightly shook Maxie’s shoulders. “Max. Look at me.”

Maxie finally looked up at him.

“Please, if there’s something going on--”

“There’s nothing,” Maxie said immediately. “Nothing is going on with me. I just…” He sighed. “I lost track of time. I’m sorry, Archie, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Archie’s face softened. “...Well,” he began, “yer okay. Nothin’ bad happened to ya. I guess I should be glad for that much.” He smiled warmly. “Don’t do stupid stuff like that ever again, ya hear? We can take the dogs out together.”

Archie wasn’t going to accept his lies for much longer. Even if he was a bit of a lughead, he was a lot smarter than he looked. In fact, he probably was already trying to put the pieces together. Maxie gently leaned his head up against Archie’s chest. 

“Can we  _ please  _ go to bed?” He asked. “This awful pup dragged me out quite a ways and I’m about ready to pass out.”

Archie chuckled and kissed the top of Maxie’s head. “Sure thing, Max,” he said. “I got it all warmed up for you.”

He led Maxie back to their bedroom with one hand around his shoulders. As they went, they turned the lights back off. Maxie eyed the Poochyena in his arms, which was now looking at him with one eye open.

It was just their little secret for now.

 

* * *

 

It had been years since the last human visited Faraway Island. Maxie knew he’d have to be prepared for anything. Uneven terrain, uncharted areas filled with plant matter, high leveled Pokemon. It was hard to know exactly what was living on the island. Plus, without the threat of humans, the Pokemon wouldn’t be afraid of him.

After a long time of pretending that Poochyena wasn’t staying, he finally broke down and bought it a regular Poke Ball. Archie insisted that he keep it to even out their Pokemon. He bought several antidotes just in case of Poison-type attacks. Luckily, Golbat wouldn’t need one, but Numel and Poochyena would be vulnerable. He took potions and revives, repels, and a couple full heals in case of confusion, paralysis, or burns.  From the depths of one of his still packed boxes of things he produced the Master Ball, which he slipped into his pocket. He would be needing it if he was going to have any hope of capturing Mew.

By the time he was finished, his bag was filled to the brim. He looked ready to take on a full-scale Pokemon Gym challenge.

He hid the bag from Archie in the bushes just outside the house. It would be easier to explain why he was leaving without the bag. Knowing he was doing something that involved Pokemon would only make Archie want to come with him. Plus, Archie was already starting to doubt him. It would surely be the straw that broke the Numel’s back.

Now all he needed to do was get past Archie, which was easier said than done.

He waited until the early evening rolled around, doing various chores around the house. Archie came home from work early that day, which was unusual, but he didn’t pay it much mind. They didn’t say much to each other, both busy with their own things. But he could tell that Archie had something on his mind. Why he wasn’t saying anything was a mystery, however.

Six o’clock was the designated meeting time. At five-thirty, when Archie disappeared into a bedroom, he decided to try and give him the slip. Assuming everything went according to plan, he wouldn’t have to think up an excuse later.

“Where are ya going?”

Pausing just before he reached for the door, Maxie turned to face Archie, who was all dressed up in a neat button up shirt he hadn’t seen in ages. He had to stop and look him over, it was very rare that Archie dressed up so nicely and it was always a sight to be seen.

“...I….there’s something I have to do,” Maxie said as he tugged on his coat. “I’ll be a while, Archie, so you don’t have to wait up for me. If there’s an emergency, I have my phone. But don’t expect a--”

“Max, don’t ya know what day it is?”

He stopped to think on it for a moment. His mind was blank.

“...Tuesday?”

Archie huffed. “Yeah, it’s fucking  _ Tuesday _ ,” he said. “But it’s a  _ special _ Tuesday. Remember?” 

Maxie was silent. He truly, honestly didn’t remember. Archie furrowed his eyebrows. The look on his face...he seemed hurt.

“Max,” Archie said softly. “It’s our anniversary.”

“Oh.”

Suddenly he felt like the biggest asshole in all the world. He played with the edge of his coat. Maxie knew that he couldn’t bail on Archie, not tonight. By the looks of him and how he’d gone and gotten dressed properly, he had reservations. It was probably going to be a surprise. With all the tension between them, it would have been great to finally get out and spend some quality time together.

But he also couldn’t ignore the  _ other _ plans that had been made tonight. Not with so much at stake.

“...I’ll make it up to you,” Maxie said. “Tomorrow.”

Archie raised an eyebrow at him. “The hell do ya have to do that’s more important than our anniversary?” He asked. “Last I checked ya don’t have any work and don’t have any friends in the area.”

“I…” He swallowed. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.”

“Why not? Are ya--” Archie’s expression suddenly changed, as if something horrifying had suddenly dawned on him. He stared at Maxie with wide eyes. “All that sneakin’ around...those mystery phone calls, late night rendezvous...yer not...there’s not someone  _ else _ out there waitin’ for ya, is there?” 

Maxie’s mouth dropped open in surprise. 

“ _ What _ ?”

Archie scratched the back of his neck and looked away.

“If...I mean…if you’d rather have someone else,” he said. “I’m not gonna stop ya--”

“Absolutely  _ not _ !” 

Maxie said it too quickly and it made Archie look even more uneasy. Maxie inhaled and then exhaled slowly before stepping away from the door and walking over to Archie. Wordlessly, he kissed him. It was short but he hoped that Archie got its meaning. He held Archie’s face and gave him a hard look.

“Archie, there’s nobody in this world who could replace you. And even if there was, I don’t want anyone else. So please don’t think like that,” he said softly. “I’m sorry I can’t go with you tonight, but I’ll explain everything later. Alright?”

Archie looked at him before he sighed and turned away. “...Alright. I’ll trust ya,” he said. “But ya’d better tell me  _ everything _ when ya come back, ‘kay?”

“I promise,” Maxie said. “The second I come back, I’ll tell you everything.” Then, he smiled a little. “Thank you, Archie. For trusting me.”

Remembering that he was in a hurry, Maxie quickly went to the door and gave Archie one final look before he disappeared.

Archie simply looked at the door for a while longer before he settled down on the couch. His shoulders drooped. Togetic flew in from another room and settled down next to him, letting out a confused chirp. He ran a hand through his hair and looked down at the carpet.

“...Dammit, Max.”

 

* * *

 

The great beach just beyond Slateport was closing up for the evening. With the sun setting, the swimmers and families who had spent the day playing in the water were all walking back. A few of them watched Maxie as he made his way across the boardwalk nearby, probably wondering what a man in a sweater was doing near the beach this late in the day. Maxie tried not to mind them much.

As Mr. Briney had promised, the tiny recreational boat was tied hastily to a post on the old wooden dock. From the way he had talked about it, Maxie assumed that it was something a bit more spectacular to look at. But, he supposed, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“There you are!” Mr. Briney waved to him. “I was beginnin’ to think you weren’t coming.”

“Sorry. There was...something else I had to do first,” Maxie said, glancing back toward the city. The guilt was going to weigh on him all night. “I’m ready to go now.”

He walked onto the boat, seizing up as it wobbled underfoot. Ever since the ride from Kanto, he’d been adamant about using any transportation that wasn’t boats. Of course Mew had to be living on some dingy island in the middle of the sea. Courtney was already seated toward the front of the boat, looking decidedly neutral, as always, about where they were.

“Hah.  ♪ Nice to see you could make it,” she said.

“And leave you alone on a boat with an elderly man we met in a bar? I think not,” Maxie said. He settled alongside her. Then, noting the clothes that just barely covered her Rocket uniform, he asked, “Are you sure you’re going to be alright wearing just that? It’s a cool night and the wind will only make it worse.”

Courtney shrugged. Maxie knew that would be the end of that discussion. Mr. Briney stepped onto the boat carefully, making the Wingull on his shoulder ruffle a bit as he disturbed its sleep. He went to the side of the boat and carefully began to undo the knot holding the boat in place.

“Alright, anchors away!” He said cheerily. “We’re setting sail, Peeko, my darling!”

Maxie looked back toward the shore. The sun was slowly disappearing and the lights of Slateport were blinking to life. Archie was there, somewhere, maybe still at home, maybe out sitting by his lonesome in the restaurant he’d picked out. He let out a quiet sigh. This all felt so wrong.

“About how long do you think we’ll be out at sea?” Maxie asked. “How long do you think it will take to reach the island?”

“Huh?” Mr. Briney set the anchor down in the boat and scratched his chin. “Took me about...oh, a good couple hours to get there.”

A few hours. Plus the time to find Mew--if there even  _ was _ a Mew--plus the time to get back, plus any other annoying setbacks that were prone to happening. Not nearly enough time to still continue on with Archie’s surprise plans. The guilt was going to hang over him all night.

“I see.”

“You got other plans y’have to get to?”

Maxie looked at him before shaking his head. “No, it’s nothing.”

“Whatever ya say.” The old man opened the door to the boat and disappeared inside. The boat’s engine roared to life. Maxie could practically feel the heavy footsteps of the other man through the bottom of the boat. “I hope you two kids don’t get seasick easy,” he said through the window, “cause it’s a rough trip out there! Hahaha!”

“Give me a bucket and I’ll be fine,” Maxie said.

The boat lurched forward, making Maxie grip the seats. It set off from the shoreline, already bobbing along with the rougher waves of the sea. Maxie glared out at the water. The Arceus-damned sea was once again the bane of his existence. 

The lights of Slateport slowly began to fade in the distance as they got further and further from land. Maxie couldn’t help but stare at it until it was nothing more than little pinpricks on the water. The nervousness was coming back. And it wasn’t the boat that caused it this time.

How was he supposed to tell Archie about all of this?

The second he told Archie that he was working for Team Rocket again, Archie was never going to relent. Archie was a damned force to be reckoned with when he was angry. Surely he wouldn’t appreciate him keeping these kinds of secrets from him. And Maxie wouldn’t be surprised if he went and wrung Proton’s neck. That is, after he ripped Maxie a new one.

Mr. Briney was taking them deep out into the ocean, where Maxie noticed there was effectively nothing. There were no islands, no landmarks, just...sea water as far as the eye could see. The ocean was so vast.

“One cannot help but wonder how different things would be if the world looked a little different,” Maxie said. “The planet is covered in more than seventy percent salt water--could you imagine if there was even twenty percent more land?”

Courtney looked at him expectantly. He glanced at her, a bit startled. He wasn’t really expecting her to have heard that, what with all the noise the boat was stirring up.

“What I mean is…” he said. “There’s little for mankind to do with straight-up sea water. It can be processed and it is a steady source of food, but in this era of overcrowding...even if only a small chunk of the space where the sea is now was used, it could be very valuable. Or if even there were more places like Sea Mauville...”

Courtney didn’t say anything to him. He realized that he probably sounded ridiculous, spouting off nonsense about land expansion to a teenager. It was how it was, it wouldn’t do to waste time thinking about something that plain and simple wasn’t possible. 

The boat hit a particularly rough patch of sea, which sent spray into Maxie’s face. He glared at the boat cabin. 

Time on the boat seemed to pass slowly. Every minute was grueling as Maxie fought the rising urge to lose his lunch. Mr. Briney had given him an old white fishing bucket with the word “CHUM” written on the side in faded letters. Something about it made him even more interested in not puking.

But eventually, something was spotted over the horizon. With the setting sun, it was all the more visible; a little patch of land. Maxie’s eyes widened.

The moment the island came into view, Maxie immediately knew what it was. It was the perfect picture of the natural world; trees grown to new heights, vines dipping over the side of the rocky island, grass covering any evidence of human discovery, if there even was any. Birds of various shapes and sizes flew over it. What species they belonged to, Maxie had no idea.

“That’s it,” Maxie said. “Faraway Island.”

Courtney squinted at it. 

“...Target locked.  ♪ ”

“Considering that the map has stayed out of the hands of the general public for the last decade, I don’t doubt that there hasn’t been a single human on this island,” Maxie said. “We should be very, very careful. Stay with me at all times.”

“Alright boss,” Courtney said, giving him a casual salute.

“I told you to stop calling me that.”

On the far side of the island, there was a tiny wooden dock that looked as if it hadn’t been properly cared for in years. Though their captain, Mr. Briney, seemed confident in its abilities and was already fixing the boat to one of the posts, Maxie made a face at it. Would something like that even be safe to walk on?

“Careful out there you two,” Mr. Briney said to them. “I’ve only come out here once and I never left the boat. Don’t know what might be lurkin’ in that jungle.”

“Understood,” Maxie said. “I...don’t know how long we’ll be. The island’s not too big, but the jungle might be difficult to navigate.”

“Take your time.” Mr. Briney said. “If you need me, I’ll be catching up on my reading.”

The jungle was a maze, as Maxie figured. Gone untouched by civilization and humankind, there were no paths. The jungle floor was overgrown with plant life, fungi, and roots. It was a paradise for wild Pokemon. But he and Courtney had to be careful where they stepped lest something poisonous be lurking just around the bend.

Maxie pulled out a pad of paper and began noting some of the features unique to this area. Mangrove trees, something thought to be native only to Mossdeep City, were the most common tree. He’d seen at least one Chatot flying overhead along with the Swablu flocks. Knowing what he did about Hoenn’s island life, he figured that there were possibly Natu further inside the jungle.

But there weren’t any Mew nor any presence of Mew. Not from what he could tell.

Eventually they came upon a clearing in the dense foliage. The area was covered in a fine, short grass that hid nothing. Maxie spotted a few Oddish at the foot of the trees who looked at him in wonder. The Taillow in the trees scattered.

Then he noticed the sign.

It was obscured by a few plants that were growing around its post. He hurried over to it. There was some faint writing on it, faded by sunlight and frayed as the wood was exposed to the elements. But Maxie could vaguely read what it said.

“…If any human sets foot here again…” he began. “Let it be a kindhearted…With that hope I depart? What’s that supposed to-- ”

He didn’t get his answer as the ground gave way under his feet.

“Hwah--!”

Maxie tumbled into a deep hole, grass, dirt, and rocks landing around him. When the dust cleared, he groaned and looked up, rubbing his head. Had he walked into a sinkhole? He eyed his surroundings. There hadn’t been any visible signs of a sinkhole. And he certainly wasn’t that inattentive.

“Boss?”

“I’m okay, Courtney!” Maxie called up through the hole. Courtney appeared over the side. “See if you can find anything to pull me back out. I’ll look around for another exit.”

From his satchel he produced a flashlight. Shining it around in the darkness, he noticed that it was not in fact a sinkhole, but instead a cave system. A very complex cave system. From the opening he was in there were four exits; a small one, an even tinier one, a large one, and one that was partially filled with rocks. The answer seemed simple. He headed for the larger one.

Much unlike the Cerulean Cave of years ago, this cavern was barren and silent. Not a single Sandshrew, Zubat, or Geodude made a sound. In this dark, eerie silence, Maxie wandered about. Water dripped somewhere unseen. He hugged his arms.

What he wouldn’t give to be caving with Archie at his side again.

The long way ended up snaking around, up and down, side to side. At times he even had to crawl through it. It was delightfully natural and unsuitable to the human form. Maxie wondered to himself just what kinds of Pokemon had been tunneling through it. Or living in it. There was no way that the caves were empty on an island full of life.

Dirt fell from the ceiling when he bumped it with his head. He heard something break the silence and skitter away. The flashlight fell from his hands and landed on the floor. There went the light.

“Shit!” Maxie felt around on the floor for it, finding it in a patch of soft dirt. He hit it a few times in an effort to bring back the light but to no avail. “Don’t do this to me!”

A low, echoed noise came from the hall beyond him. He flinched. The network of caves distorted the noise making it impossible to tell what was making it. He grabbed the Pokeball on his belt that contained Golbat. Neither Numel nor Poochyena could see in the darkness, but it would be able to.

After releasing the ball into what space they had, Golbat felt it necessary to embrace its master.

“Oof--!” Maxie pushed at it. “Yes, I’m happy to see you too. But there’s a more important matter at hand here.”

The noise came again. Golbat backed off. It let out a shrill sound and Maxie heard it flap away from him. The noise echoed off the walls until it slowly got quieter and quieter. More shrill sounds. The echoed noise sounded surprise.

Then, silence.

“Golbat! What do you see?”

A blinding light lit the tunnel. Maxie hissed and covered his face. Golbat came tumbling back, screeching and flailing wildly. It landed on top of him in a heap. Cursing, Maxie managed to get the large Pokemon off of him. It was out cold. Well, that wasn’t much help.

However, the light that had lit the tunnel stayed. He looked around him. The dirty rock walls around him turned a lighter brown. What was making that light? The answer floated down the hall. Though it was glowing bright as the sun, and Maxie had to shield his eyes, the form was unmistakable.

It was a Mew. It was a much smaller one than the one he’d encountered last time, but definitely a Mew. It blinked at him and tilted its head.

“So you can use Flash,” he said to it. “That’s awfully useful.”

The Mew did a small backflip and floated away from where it came. Maxie stood up, recalling Golbat. The light was disappearing with the Mew, so he hurried along after it. The glow led him down a short tunnel with a few twists and turns. But then the light was replaced by natural light.

The cave opened up in a spectacular formation in the limestone, where a circular opening overhead trimmed by grass and wildflowers surrounded what was probably the cave’s natural entrance. Lining the sides just below this opening were little alcoves filled with grassy nests in the rock. The Mew that knew Flash flew into one, curled up, and settled down. Maxie looked around him as another Mew, and then another, approached him.

This was definitely Faraway Island.

Each Mew was even more curious than the last. Maxie wondered if he was the first human they’d ever seen. They were unused to the danger of humans, clearly, as they were more than willing to get within grabbing range. But Maxie did not reach out to them. Instead, he examined the little nests.

“Remarkable,” he said. “This must be where Mew originated. This island’s soil is so rich and its plants so unique, it’s no wonder that Mew chose this to be its home.”

A shrill Pokemon cry from behind him made him turn. It was another Mew, much unlike the last ones. Larger, more slender, and it wasn’t at all curious. No, it looked downright devious. Maxie raised an eyebrow and found himself smiling at it as it approached him.

“Here we are meeting again, it seems. Do you always go running around in caves?” 

The Mew floated close to him. It was grinning, seeming very proud of itself. It tilted its head back and forth before it giggled, as if it had remembered something funny. Maxie shook his head at it.

“I didn’t have the chance to thank you for nearly  _ ending _ my life. You’ve gotten me in some serious trouble,” Maxie said. He reached out to pet it and, to his surprise, Mew let him. “Your friends can do useful things like Flash, why are you so keen on Explosion?” 

“Boss.”

Maxie turned. From the darkness of the cave, Courtney appeared. The Mew scattered, save for the exploding one. It eyed Courtney warily, but didn’t seem nervous or scared.

“Ah. Courtney. Nice of you to join us,” he said. “How’d you find me?

“Ha. Wasn’t hard  ♪ ” she said. “Came through the same way you did.  ♪ ” She looked at the Mew beside him. “...Is that Mew? Hmm…” She frowned. “I thought it’d be bigger.   ♪ ”

“It is what it is,” Maxie said. The Mew floated above Courtney’s head. “It may seem small and unthreatening, but I can assure you that anything pink that lives in caves is very dangerous. I had to learn that lesson the hard way.”

“I was expecting something more…  ♪♪  Dangerous looking.” Courtney scratched under Mew’s chin. “This doesn’t suit Proton.”

Proton. Yes, of course. That was why they’d come, wasn’t it? Maxie watched as the exploding Mew twirled in the air, completely carefree. This little pink cat was what caused him so much grief for such a long time.

“I know. But Mew’s DNA is valuable in research and its abilities to learn any move are instrumental in ruling the world.” 

Or, at least, that was what Proton had said to him. Mew made a few loop-de-loops. Maxie frowned. As much as the Mew had annoyed him and Archie, and despite all the trouble it had caused, he wasn’t sure he could force it into a ball and deliver it to Proton. Especially not when he knew what horrors could come of keeping such a powerful force of nature.

From his pocket he pulled out the Master Ball he’d found in Silph Co. It enlarged. He rolled it around in his fingers. Mew perked up.

“So, we’re gonna catch it?” Courtney asked. “Go ahead.  ♪ ”

Maxie held the ball out at arm’s length. Mew didn’t move. He could throw the ball, hit it, and capture it with no effort at all. Proton would take it and leave his life forever. There would be no more free flying, exploding Mew. But Proton would also never bother him again. He and Archie could go about their lives in peace.  Could he really do that to it? Even if it was for Archie? 

Archie...If Archie were here, he’d be telling Maxie not to do it. Never to do it. That’s why they’d gone to the cave in the first place, wasn’t it? They’d risked their lives trying to scare Mew off. To keep it out of Team Rocket’s hands.

His shoulders slumped.

“...Argh.” He dropped his arm. Mew floated away in the same direction that the others had gone. “I can’t do it.”

“It’s just one Pokemon.”

Maxie gave her a look. “You have no idea what Team Rocket does to Pokemon, do you?” She shook her head. “It isn’t pleasant. Some are lucky and have more caring trainers, like Archie and I were. But some end up abused, hurt, neglected, killed for something they possess and then sold through the black market...I don’t like to think about it.”

“Hmmm. You’re still working for them, though,” Courtney pointed out.

“Not by choice I’m not,” Maxie said. “It was never a choice. It was always do or die. Work, or my body would wash up on a foreign beach to be pecked at by Wingull.”

That was the story of his life, though, wasn’t it? He sighed and looked up at the sky. Always being shuffled around from place to place when he was young only to grow up into a world where nothing changed. When was he going to start making decisions for himself? He looked at the Master Ball before tucking it away into his pocket.

“Team Rocket’s not so scary,” Courtney said. Maxie gave her a strange look. “I could be worse. You could be worse, too.  ♪ ”

“And why would I want to do that?” He blew a piece of hair from his face. “I want to  _ help _ the world, not scare everyone into submission.”

“Hm?  ♪ ”

Maxie looked away again. “...This island is incredible, isn’t it? So rich in its soils that plants I’ve never seen before live here in abundance,” he said. “Mew is considered a legend in most of the world, but I’ve seen nearly half a dozen today.” 

As if on cue, a Mew twirled through the sky. 

“They say that Mew is the ancestor of all Pokemon,” Maxie continued. “Do you think this is where all land-based life started? On this island?”

Courtney said nothing, whether she didn’t have an answer or wasn’t interested Maxie couldn’t tell. He didn’t entirely care, though.

“What kinds of things could we expect from a world where the soil was exactly like this?” He asked. “Would new Pokemon be able to grow and evolve from it? Would new plant life develop? And surely humanity would be able to prosper, too...Imagine! We could use more land to build homes and farms.” 

Maxie reached down and picked up a handful of sediment on the floor of the cavern. It was soft, squishy, and dark. The soil slipped through his fingers and back onto the ground. He stepped forward toward the wall of the opening and looked up at the flowers growing around it, the little nests the Mew built around it. Several of said Pokemon were still looking down at them curiously. The larger Mew was beside them.

“Why don’t you do it, then?” 

Maxie looked at her, surprised.

“What?”

She tilted her head back and forth slowly. “What you said. With the soil and stuff. It’d be nice,” she said. “I’d back you up.  ♪ ”

“I…” Maxie let out a disbelieving laugh. He ran a hand through his hair. “That’s all well and good, but I don’t even know how I’d accomplish something like that.”

“Can’t be too hard, right?”

Maxie gave her a tired look. He couldn’t expect a kid to understand the sheer size and scope of that kind of operation, or how much work that would be. It wasn’t as simple as moving soil around--to add to the land itself? To increase the quality of even Hoenn’s existing landmass was an undertaking of epic proportions.

“That’s…Assuming it’s even possible to do something like that, we’d need an army,” Maxie said. “We’d also need money, resources, time...Arceus, this would be absolutely huge. It’s too much for one man.” He shook his head. “It’s just a silly idea, Courtney, please don’t mind me.”

He touched his pocket where he stowed the Master Ball. With a sigh, he started back the way that they had come. Courtney followed after him. It was a bit disappointing that they’d come all this way for virtually nothing. But the experience in itself was interesting. He noticed that a few of the more curious little Mew were following after them, interest piqued.

“We’re not taking a Mew?” Courtney asked.

Maxie shook his head. “No,” he said. “We’ll leave them be. They’re much better off here. In the meantime, we need to find a way out of this cave system.”

Courtney had brought a light of her own, which illuminated the cavern. The tunnel seemed shorter on the way back. The moon was high in the sky above them, and provided enough light to see the cave. Maxie pulled out Golbat’s Pokeball from his bag. Upon releasing it, it shook its head dizzily and eyed Maxie with annoyance.

“I know you’re tired but we need a lift out of here,” Maxie said. “It’ll only be a moment, one of us per trip.”

Golbat made a shrill sound. It flapped over to Courtney and grabbed onto her shoulders. Her eyes widened and she flailed a bit as she was lifted from the ground. Golbat effortlessly pulled her out of the hole, took her beyond Maxie’s range of sight, and returned momentarily to do the same for its master. He thanked Arceus for having a Flying-type Pokemon.

They took the same little path back through the jungle, being extra mindful of any Pokemon that might only come out at night. The air was filled with the shrill cries of Mew, who were clumped together in the sky above the trees playing some kind of game. He spotted the exploding one among them. It was all a bit surreal, and Maxie pinched himself to make sure he didn’t just fallen asleep on the boat. He hadn’t.

But the reality of the situation came back once they came out of the jungle. At the little dock was a second, bigger ship. 

And there was Proton, along with a small team of Rocket Grunts. Two of which were restraining Mr. Briney and his now angry Wingull. One thousand questions went through Maxie’s mind--How had Proton found the island? How many more Rockets knew about it? How long had they been there? 

“Well, well, well,” a familiar voice said. “Look what the Meowth dragged in.”

“You…how…” Maxie said.

“You can’t possibly believe that I let you go running around of your own free will, do you?” Proton said with a quiet laugh. He approached Maxie confidently. His face changed from snarky to menacing in a split second. He snapped his fingers.

“Gather the Mew.” 

The Rocket Grunts charged forward. The Mew let out shrill cries as they tried to make their escape. Red flashes filled the area. Half a dozen Pokemon appeared; Raticates, Koffing, Ekans, and Zubat. But Maxie didn’t budge. He glared at them and stood his ground.

“What’s this all about, Red?” Proton said.

“You’re not getting any of these Mew,” Maxie said. It sounded confident--to him, at least--but he was still frightened. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Proton squinted at him. Then he sighed, shook his head, and shrugged.

“So it’s come to this again. You and that stupid brat and your bleeding hearts. Oh,  _ no _ ! The  _ Pokemon _ are getting hurt! Big bad Team Rocket should be punished!” Proton said in a mocking tone. “I don’t have time to listen to you whine.”

He pulled a Poke Ball from his belt and tossed it into the air. Weezing appeared from it. 

“Weezing, Smokescreen!”

Weezing released a cloud of gas into the air, which blanketed the area. Maxie and Courtney coughed as they breathed in the smoke, as did the other Grunts. Maxie’s eyes watered as he tried to see through it. He caught the vague shape of Proton running through it. He was going after the nest. Maxie had to stop him.

“Ack--Courtney,” Maxie said through a chain of coughing. “I...I need to go after Proton. We can’t let him get to the Mew. Can you distract the Grunts?”

“...Hm.  ♪ I don’t have any Pokemon.”

Without missing a beat, Maxie pulled two Pokeballs from his belt, Poochyena and Numel, and handed them over to her. 

“They’re not very strong,” he said, “but they should be able to distract the Rockets long enough for me to handle Proton.”

“...I don’t have a trainer card.”

“We don’t have time to argue about this, Courtney! Can you do this?” She went quiet for a moment before nodding. “Good. If we both survive this, it’ll be a miracle.”

“There’s a 75.6% chance we won’t.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Maxie ran off back into the jungle, leaving Courtney alone in the cloud of smoke. It dissipated as he reached the end of the smokescreen zone. He rushed through the jungle, pushing plants out of his way. Frightened Pokemon were running around, their cries filling the air. Maxie had to dodge Rattata and Oddish, Beautifly, and Marill among plenty of others, as they came at him, terrified.

With all the noise, he couldn’t hear Proton’s footsteps. He looked around wildly. Which way had he gone? Where was he now? He was feeling all turned around, not even sure where he had come from now.

A familiar cry drew his attention. It was coming from somewhere deeper. He hurried away, panting and stumbling as he went. 

He came upon the clearing with the faded sign again. There was Proton, on the other side of the hole Maxie had fallen into. One of the younger Mews was clutched in his hand. It was struggling against his grip.

“I warned you, Red,” Proton said. “It’s futile to resist Team Rocket. We always get what we want, one way or the other.”

“Let that Pokemon go!” Maxie yelled.

Proton laughed.

“As if I’d listen to some lowly Grunt like you!” He said. Another Pokeball was flung into the air. “Golbat! Get rid of him! Show him what happens to people who dare mess with Proton!”

Proton’s Golbat appeared in a flash of red light. It was large and had a fierce look on its face like it was prepared to rip Maxie apart. Maxie immediately released his own Golbat. The moment Golbat spotted Proton, it let loose a battle cry, all signs of its exhaustion disappearing. 

Golbat versus Golbat. Not an ideal match up, but there was nothing to do about it.

“Wing Attack!” Proton commanded.

His Golbat rushed at Maxie’s with a blinding speed. It knocked his Golbat back. It swooped in, and retaliated with a powerful Bite attack. Proton’s Golbat shrieked. But the damage was minimal. One swipe of its wing sent Maxie’s reeling again.

He and his Pokemon were out of practice. They weren’t suited for battling, this was a fact.

“Golbat! Give it all you got!” Maxie said. “Air Cutter!”

His Golbat readied its wings and delivered a powerful blast of wind that hit the opposing Golbat head on. A critical hit. It squeezed its eyes shut. Maxie signalled for his Golbat to attack again. 

“Quick, while it’s recovering! Use Wing Attack!”

Golbat swiftly rammed into the other with its wings, smacking it with several blows. Once the other Golbat regained its composure it, too, returned with its own Wing Attacks. The two fought in mid air, swiping at each other. The attacks simply weren’t strong enough. Flying-type attacks were resistant.

Wait. Golbat did have one attack that would do plenty of damage.

“Golbat, Acrobatics!” Maxie called.

That did it. The attack hit at a breakneck speed, flinging the opposing Golbat into a nearby tree. It slid to the ground, spirals in its eyes. Proton glared at it.

“This is ridiculous. I shouldn’t have relied on a weak-ass Pokemon like you,” Proton muttered. He returned Golbat to its Poke Ball and then called out, “I’ve had enough of. Weezing! Come to me!”

Within seconds, the large purple Pokemon floated down at its master’s command and entered the field. It was brimming with energy, not a single scratch on it.

Maxie watched his battle-weary Golbat, who wheezed pathetically as it struggled to keep airborne. It seemed close to fainting. With the resistance and Weezing’s powerful defenses, Maxie wouldn’t be able to do anything against Proton. Especially not when Weezing knew the extremely powerful Explosion attack. Proton was grinning wickedly at him.

“Any last words before I turn you and your bat into a crater, Red?” Proton asked.

A shrill cry echoed down from above. 

Maxie looked up. The familiar slender shape of Mew descended from the sky. It was glowing. At that moment, Maxie knew exactly what it was planning. The glowing intensified and he had to cover his face..

“Arceus damn it, not again!”

 

* * *

 

The explosion shook the island, rattling it to its core. The bird Pokemon filled the sky with their shrieking. 

Maxie’s eyes were still squeezed shut, prepared for the blast to take him with it...when he discovered that he’d only just been grazed. He opened his eyes. He was up in the air, just outside the radius of the explosion. When he looked up, he saw the reason for it; a Crobat was clutching his jacket. Below them was the remnants of a section of jungle, now nothing more than a scorched crater. Crobat circled around before it dove down again and returned Maxie to the ground.

Maxie stumbled when his feet touched the ground. He fell to his knees. Proton was nowhere to be seen, nor was Weezing. And where did the Mews go? Had they managed to escape?

He noticed something squirming in the crater. Cautiously, he walked toward it. A sleepy pink cat was curled up in the crater, all tuckered out from the Explosion attack. It looked at Maxie and yawned.

“...Oh for goodness sake,” Maxie mumbled. He scooped up the Mew and brushed some of the ashes from its face. “Recklessly charging into battle like that--It would’ve been so easy for him to capture you once you fainted.”

Mew grinned at him and snuggled up. It seemed very proud of itself. 

Maxie slowly returned to the edge of the island near the docks. The smoke was gone, as were the Rocket Grunts’ Pokemon. He spotted Courtney helping Mr. Briney to his feet, Poochyena and Numel beside them. When Courtney caught sight of him, she nodded. They were all in one piece.

A tiny Mew floated toward him. The Mew in his arms immediately perked up. Several more of them appeared from Mr. Briney’s boat, all looking as though they’d joined in the fight too. The exploding Mew picked itself up and floated over to the younger ones. They nuzzled each other, shared a knowing look with Maxie for only a few seconds, and then they left. Maxie watched them disappear without a word. 

“What...happened?” Maxie asked Courtney.

“Mmm.  ♪ The Mew fought back,” she explained. “I heard the explosion and saw Proton get flung into the ocean with his Pokemon. Then he ordered the Grunts to retreat. He looked pretty beat up.  ♪♪ ”

In the distance, Maxie spotted the Rocket boat retreating from. He grinned.

“Fu….fufufu...Gyahahahaha!” Maxie cackled. “That’ll teach you for messing with me. Next time we meet it’ll be  _ you _ who’s cowering at the feet of the  _ great _ Maxie!”

There was no sign that anyone had heard him, the Rockets were too preoccupied with fleeing the scene, and perhaps none of them were paying much mind to the fact that an amateur trainer had sent them running again. He continued to laugh, though. He laughed at how weak Proton was, and how his underlings were no better. He laughed at how pitiful the entire Team Rocket group was.

Courtney was beside him. She, however, found no humor in this situation and instead simply stared up at Maxie. Once he calmed down, he pat her on the shoulder.

“It’s a job well done, Courtney. I...I’m honestly not quite sure how we accomplished that, however…”

“Mm.  ♪♪ What should we do now?”

Maxie looked over the water and then back at the island. It had its scars from the battle, from Team Rocket’s attempt to flush out all the Mew, but it would no doubt regrow stronger than ever. He smiled a little.

“We go home, Courtney. And we forget that this island even exists.”


End file.
